The head of the government agency charged with fighting money laundering and terrorism says security forces cannot rely on traditional methods alone of combating the threat from groups such as Islamic State.
Austrac chief Pete Jevtovic has told a summit in Sydney that "financing is a critical pillar to the scourge of terrorism" and that "in many instances, terrorism acts cannot and have not occurred without some form of financing".
The meeting, which has brought together officials and international experts from 18 different countries, and which was also attended by French Consul General Nicolas Crozier, began with a minute's silence in recognition of the IS assault on Paris which has left at least 129 people dead.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the tragic events witnessed across the world in recent weeks, including in Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait and Paris, were "a sobering reminder of the dire threat that we all face".
Mr Keenan said the French flag adorned the stage at the talks, and had been flying over the Sydney Harbour Bridge in recent days, "because of the fact that the Australian people feel that an attack in Paris is an attack on us".
He also highlighted the challenge faced by authorities in combating the financing of terrorism, pointing to the number of "suspicious matter reports" to Austrac in 2014-15 which had increased by 300 per cent on the previous financial year.
There were 367 transactions identified as possibly financing terrorism in 2014-15, compared to just 66 in 2012-13.
Mr Jevtovic said authorities could not rely only on traditional surveillance methods, such as monitoring and intercepting communications, to thwart terror attacks, adding that IS operatives had demonstrated an ability to change tactics to avoid detection.
"Again, if we reflect on the events of Paris every aspect of the six separate attacks at some point in their preparation" some form of financial transaction had likely taken place, he said.
About 170 people in Australia are known to be providing financial support to individuals and groups involved in the Syria and Iraq conflicts.
The summit comes as ASIO continues to investigate several thousand leads and persons of concern for links to terrorism, of which more than 400 are high-priority targets.
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