Politically exposed persons (PEPs) are individuals who occupy a prominent public position or function in a government body or international organisation, both within and outside Australia, including:
- Head of State or head of a country or government;
- Government minister or equivalent senior politician;
- Senior government official;
- Judge of the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia or a Supreme Court of a State or Territory, or a Judge of a court of equivalent seniority in a foreign country or international organisation;
- Governor of a central bank or any other position that has comparable influence to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia;
- Senior foreign representative, ambassador, or high commissioner;
- High-ranking member of the armed forces; or
- Board chair, chief executive, or chief financial officer of, or any other position that has comparable influence in, any State enterprise or international organisation.
This definition also extends to their immediate family members and close associates, including:
- A spouse;
- A de facto partner;
- A child and a child’s spouse or de facto partner;
- A parent; and
- An individual who is a close associate of a person referred to above, which means any individual who is known (having regard to information that is public or readily available) to have:
- Joint beneficial ownership of a legal entity or legal arrangement with a person referred to above; or
- Sole beneficial ownership of a legal entity or legal arrangement that is known to exist for the benefit of a person described above.