In Reply to: Declaring over $10,000 Aus leaving Aus posted by Holladaze on Tuesday, 12. October 2010 at 15:50 Bali Time:
The only reason you need to declare is because the ATO like all other international debt collecting agencies can keep a paper trail on mass amounts leaving the country. (It is a form of a firewall to prevent money laundering or people putting money into secret bank accounts) which they would suspect if you were going to some non-conforming countries that do not have a tax arrangement with the Aust Govt. Some people I know move a lot more than $10k out of the country and have never had a problem as they have declared each time.
They cannot stop you moving cash out of the country, but you can trap and incriminate yourself if you don't declare. It is like signing a tax form or a quarantine declaration - you form a binding contract with the government...break it and you get pinched.