Report on organised crime in Australia

ORGANISED CRIME IN AUSTRALIA:

* Serious and organised crime costs Australia $36 billion a year

* Professions including lawyers, accountants and real estate agents are increasingly helping criminals evade authorities, wittingly or unwittingly

* Technology has led to more fraud in online banking, trade and superannuation and made it easier for criminals to sexually exploit children remotely

* Identity crime costs the country an estimated $2.2 billion

* Methylamphetamine, or ice, continues to cause disproportionate harm in Australia despite cannabis being the most commonly-used drug

* Illicit pharmaceutical use is high in rural and remote communities where access to illicit drugs is limited. Fentanyl and oxycodone is a common option

* Cocaine supply to Australia could increase after unprecedented increases in coca cultivation in Colombia during 2013 and 2015

* Links have been observed between serious and organised crime and terrorism suspects

* Phoenixing activity estimated to cost the Australian economy $3.2 billion each year

* The card fraud rate was about 74 cents per $1000 spent in 2015/16. That increased from 60 cents in the previous year

* Contactless payment options present increased opportunities for online payment and card fraud

* Australia's ranking on Transparency International's corruption perceptions index has dropped from seventh in 2012 to 13th in 2016

* Australia has 250,000 long arm firearms and 10,000 handguns in its illicit market

* There are more than 2.89 million legally-registered firearms in Australia and 816,000 firearm licences

Source: Organised Crime in Australia 2017, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commision.