AUSTRAC Codeathan awarded for innovation

An Innovation Award has been won by AUSTRAC for its Codeathon.

As Australia’s first ever law enforcement and financial intelligence Codeathon, the initiative received a Public Sector Innovation Award.

The Codeathon won the award’s Culture and Capability category, which focuses on “people — the key facet in effective innovation” and is a reflection of AUSTRAC’s culture of innovation.

Hosted as part of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in March 2018, the Codeathon brought together technology and innovation specialists from across government and the private sector to tackle complex challenges focused on the theme of “leveraging innovation to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and cyber risks”.

The participants, who came from all around Australia and the ASEAN region, undertook a gruelling 32 hours of problem solving, creative thinking and collaboration, which saw a number of innovative initiatives developed.

AUSTRAC CEO Nicole Rose said she was delighted that AUSTRAC’s dedication to new and innovative ideas had been recognised with the award.

“The Codeathon is just one of many initiatives where we have used innovative techniques to tackle financial crime in Australia,” Rose said.

“Our world-class teams of analysts and data scientists do an incredible job, but we must constantly evolve and work with others outside to stay ahead of the criminals. That is why we have embedded a culture of innovation and collaboration at AUSTRAC.”

AUSTRAC continues to develop some of the concepts developed at the Codeathon through its Innovation Hub, including potential blockchain prototype solutions and mentoring of selected participants. For more information about the Codeathon, including participants and results, visit: http://austrac.gov.au/codeathon.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/maciek905

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