NSW government’s new powers to crack down on organised crime

The reforms are another crucial step towards dismantling organised crime with new powers and tougher penalties targeting money laundering and unexplained wealth.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the reforms were designed to strike organised crime networks at their financial base, stopping criminals from profiting from their actions and incapacitating them financially.

“These reforms will better arm law enforcement with the powers they need to confiscate unexplained wealth and create new offences and tougher penalties for those seeking to launder money derived from criminal activity,” he said.

“Organised crime and the technologies that criminals use to operate are always changing and evolving, and these reforms will put our state in the strongest position to deal with these insidious crimes.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for Police, Paul Toole, said these laws give police tough new powers to infiltrate organised criminal networks that increasingly rely on dedicated encrypted devices to avoid detection by law enforcement.

The reforms will make it an offence to possess these kinds of devices.  

The reforms also include:

• New powers to confiscate unlawfully acquired assets of major convicted drug traffickers
• Enhanced powers to target and confiscate unexplained wealth from criminal gangs
• Expanded powers to stop and search for unexplained wealth and more effectively investigate organised crime
• New prohibition orders to target high-risk individuals likely to use dedicated encrypted devices to avoid law enforcement

Legislation to underpin the new reforms will be introduced when NSW Parliament returns for the spring session.