Discontinuation of Coin Swaps and Regulatory Considerations
Dear Royal Australian Mint,
I am writing to request access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) concerning the Royal Australian Mint’s coin swap events.
I seek access to any documents created or received between 1 January 2023 and 31 March 2025 that relate to:
1. Operational concerns, risk assessments or internal correspondence regarding the handling of cash transactions at coin swap events, including but not limited to: Observations of repeated customer transactions; The volume of cash accepted; Staff practices for end-of-day coin distribution or decisions to offload remaining stock.
2. Documents discussing or referencing AUSTRAC, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) compliance, or the reporting of cash transactions exceeding $10,000 in the context of coin swap events.
3. Any incident reports, internal reviews, or policy changes that resulted in or contributed to the decision to discontinue coin swap events as part of the Mint’s public outreach strategy.
To assist in processing, I expressly exclude from the scope of this request: Documents relating to eShop sales or commercial contracts with private sector partners; Customer marketing strategies or financial modelling unrelated to event operations or regulatory compliance.
If any documents contain exempt material, I request access to the non-exempt portions in accordance with section 22 of the Act.
This request is made in the public interest, with the goal of ensuring transparency around cash handling practices at public events hosted by a Commonwealth entity, particularly where high-volume transactions may create regulatory risk or inadvertently enable non-compliant behaviour under Australia’s AML/CTF framework.
Please let me know if you require any clarification, or if charges are likely to apply.
Kind regards,
Joel Kandiah
Thank you for your enquiry - we will endeavour to respond to you as soon
as possible.
Please be aware that at times of new product releases our Customer Service
Centre handles a high volume of enquiries and there may be a short delay
in attending to your email.
For Customer Service enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact our
Customer Service Centre between 8:30 am – 5:00 pm Monday to Friday on 1300
652 020, or +61 2 6202 6800 for international calls, where our friendly
team will be happy to assist you.
Kind Regards,
Customer Service
Royal Australian Mint
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without the permission of the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal
Australian Mint.
If you require this information for public use please put your request in
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1. mailto:[Royal Australian Mint request email]
Dear Mr Kandiah,
We write to acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), seeking the following documents:
I seek access to any documents created or received between 1
January 2023 and 31 March 2025 that relate to:
1. Operational concerns, risk assessments or internal correspondence
regarding the handling of cash transactions at coin swap events,
including but not limited to: Observations of repeated customer
transactions; The volume of cash accepted; Staff practices for
end-of-day coin distribution or decisions to offload remaining stock.
2. Documents discussing or referencing AUSTRAC, Anti-Money Laundering and
Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) compliance, or the reporting of
cash transactions exceeding $10,000 in the context of coin swap
events.
3. Any incident reports, internal reviews, or policy changes that
resulted in or contributed to the decision to discontinue coin swap
events as part of the Mint’s public outreach strategy.
To assist in processing, I expressly exclude from the scope of this
request: Documents relating to eShop sales or commercial contracts with
private sector partners; Customer marketing strategies or financial
modelling unrelated to event operations or regulatory compliance.
If any documents contain exempt material, I request access to the
non-exempt portions in accordance with section 22 of the Act.
The RAM received your request on 18 June 2025. The FOI Act provides that
we have 14 days to acknowledge, and 30 days to process the request. This
period may be extended if we need to consult third parties or if other
factors arise. We will advise you if this happens.
We will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request and the
amount of any such charge as soon as possible.
We make the following assumptions that affect the scope of the request. It
is our usual practice:
o Not to disclose the personal information of government employees or
the personal contact details of senior government employees (including
those of the RAM). The names of senior officers will generally be
released.
o Not to release duplicates of any document captured within the scope of
the request.
o Only the final version of a document will be considered within scope.
Please inform us if you do not agree to the request being processed on the
above assumptions. If we do not hear from you, your request will be
processed on the basis that these documents are outside the scope of your
request.
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
If you have any questions in relation to your application, please contact
the FOI Team at the RAM via the email address above.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
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This e-mail is from the Royal Australian Mint. Information in the e-mail
and any attached files is intended solely for the use of the addressee,
and may be legally privileged.
This information should not be published or reproduced for public use
without the permission of the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal
Australian Mint.
If you require this information for public use please put your request in
writing or via e-mail to [1][Royal Australian Mint request email].
Access or use by anyone else is unauthorised and may be unlawful. If you
have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately
and delete and destroy all copies.
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1. mailto:[Royal Australian Mint request email]
Dear FOI,
Thank you for your response. I accept the terms proposed in your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Joel Kandiah
Good morning Joel – attached FOI decision with accompanying documents.
Kind regards
Letitia
Letitia Abela
Royal Australian Mint
2023 International winners: Most Artistic Coin, Best Circulating Coin &
Innovative Coin
2023 National Gold winner for best cultural destination and ACT people's
choice for favourite attraction
Denison Street, Deakin ACT 2600
P. 02 62026965
E. [1][email address]
[2]ramint.gov.au
Note: The contents of any legal advice set out in this email is subject to
legal professional privilege. Please do not disclose the contents of this
legal advice more broadly within the RAM (that is outside the scope of
persons to whom the legal advice is (or was) directed), or outside the
RAM without first consulting the RAM General Counsel.
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This e-mail is from the Royal Australian Mint. Information in the e-mail
and any attached files is intended solely for the use of the addressee,
and may be legally privileged.
This information should not be published or reproduced for public use
without the permission of the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal
Australian Mint.
If you require this information for public use please put your request in
writing or via e-mail to [3][Royal Australian Mint request email].
Access or use by anyone else is unauthorised and may be unlawful. If you
have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately
and delete and destroy all copies.
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1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.ramint.gov.au/
3. mailto:[Royal Australian Mint request email]