Australia’s New AML/CTF Rules:
What They Mean for You

From 1 July 2026, new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws require us to verify the identity of all clients, existing and new, before we can provide certain services. It is a legal requirement across our industry, not a sign that anything is wrong with your account or affairs.

These changes are legal compliance requirements that apply across the industry. They are not optional, and they are not a sign that anything is wrong with your account or affairs. A current, signed engagement agreement will also be required before affected work can commence or continue.

What is AML/CTF?

AML/CTF stands for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing. These laws are designed to stop criminals from using the financial system to disguise the origin of illegally obtained money (“money laundering“), or to fund terrorism, corruption, fraud, scams, cybercrime or tax crime.

In Australia, the AML/CTF regime is overseen by AUSTRAC (the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre), the government agency responsible for detecting and preventing financial crime. Banks, financial institutions and other “reporting entities” have had AML/CTF obligations for many years. Firms like AustAsia Group are now included in that regime for the first time.

What’s changed: the Tranche 2 reforms

In late 2024, the Australian Government passed reforms to the AML/CTF Act that extend these obligations to a wider range of professions, commonly referred to as the “Tranche 2” reforms. From 1 July 2026, these obligations apply to accountants, advisory firms, lawyers, conveyancers, real estate professionals and other providers of certain financial and business services, including AustAsia Group.

This brings Australia into line with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which most other developed countries, including the UK, US and Canada, already apply to firms like ours.

Practically, this means AustAsia Group is now legally required to:

• Verify the identity of clients before we can provide certain services (this is called Customer Due Diligence, or CDD).
• Understand the ownership and control structure of any company, trust or other entity we act for, including who the beneficial owners are.
• Ask further questions about the purpose of a transaction, or the source of funds, in some circumstances.
• Keep client identification records for at least seven years.
• Re-verify or update information periodically, or when your circumstances change.

These obligations apply to all firms covered by the reforms, and to all clients, not just new clients, and not just those we consider “high risk“. If we don’t complete this process, we may be legally unable to continue providing certain services to you.

Which services are affected?

The reforms focus on specific, higher-risk “designated services“, not every routine accounting task. Whether a matter is captured depends on the exact service, the facts and the role we are asked to perform. Services that may require additional AML/CTF checks include assisting with:

• creating, varying or restructuring a company, trust, partnership or other legal arrangement, including related planning or advisory assistance;
• selling, buying or transferring a business, company, trust or other legal arrangement;
• organising equity or debt financing for a company or trust;
• receiving, holding, controlling or managing client money or property as part of a transaction;
• acting as, or arranging for another person to act as, a director, company secretary, trustee, partner, power of attorney or nominee shareholder;
• providing a registered office or principal place of business address for a company or other legal arrangement;
• certain real estate-related transactions where the service directly assists a sale, purchase or transfer.

General tax advice, routine bookkeeping, BAS preparation, payroll processing and ordinary annual tax compliance are not, by themselves, designated services, though this is always checked against the actual engagement. For ordinary clients, this is mainly an administrative change: it means we may need to ask for more information, verify certain details and keep better records before we can provide some services.

What the verification process involves

Depending on the service you use and how you are structured (individual, company, trust, partnership or SMSF), we may ask you to confirm or provide:

For individuals

• A current form of photo identification (e.g. driver’s licence or passport).
• Your full name, date of birth and residential address.

For companies

• Company registration details (ACN/ABN) and registered/business address.
• Details of directors and shareholders.
• Identification of individuals who ultimately own or control the company (beneficial owners).

For trusts and SMSFs

• A copy of the trust deed.
• Details of trustees, appointors and beneficiaries.
• Identification of individuals who ultimately control the trust.

We will only ask for what is required for your specific circumstances, you won’t necessarily be asked for everything listed above. In higher-risk situations we may also ask about the purpose of a transaction, or the source of funds or wealth.

How the process works

• You’ll receive a request from AustAsia Group (by email, and in some cases followed by a phone call) inviting you to complete identity verification, usually through a secure online link, or in person at a meeting with us.
• The request will typically give you a window of time to complete the process before it expires.
• Once submitted, your information is reviewed by our team and securely stored in line with our privacy obligations.
• If we need anything further, a member of the AustAsia Group team will contact you directly.

All information you provide is used solely to meet our legal identification obligations and to continue acting for you. It is not used for any other purpose, and is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Frequently asked questions

Why do you need this now if I’ve been a client for years?

The new obligations apply to all clients, not just new ones. Firms covered by the reforms need to verify the identity of their entire existing client base, which is why long-standing clients are being contacted alongside new ones.

Do I have to comply?

Completing identity verification is a legal requirement for us to keep providing certain services. If the information isn’t provided, we may be unable to continue acting for you on those services.

How often will I need to do this?

Typically, verification is a one-off exercise unless your circumstances change (for example, a change of address, company structure or trustees) or your information needs to be refreshed periodically in line with our obligations.

Will my information be shared with anyone else?

Your information is used to meet our AML/CTF obligations and is handled under AustAsia Group’s Privacy Policy. We are required to report certain matters to AUSTRAC in specific circumstances, as all reporting entities are, but your day-to-day information is not shared beyond what the law requires.

What happens if I ignore the request or it expires?

If a request expires before you respond, we’ll usually follow up or send a new one. Until verification is complete, we may need to pause work on services affected by these obligations, so we encourage you to complete it promptly.

Do I need a new engagement agreement even if nothing in my affairs has changed?

Yes. From 1 July 2026, a current signed engagement agreement is required for all clients before affected work can commence or continue, regardless of how long you’ve been with us.