Preparing for the July 2026 AML Regulatory Shift
AML Compliance for Australian Lawyers, Accountants and Financial Service Providers
Counting down to 1 July 2026
AML Changes are Coming
for Tranche 2 Entities.
AML Changes are Coming. Are you and your clients ready?
AML obligations for some professional and financial services firms are changing from 1 July. Our team is here to help you and your clients transition as painlessly as possible.
Why is this happening?
Changes to the Federal Government's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Legislation were passed in late 2024. They come into effect this year, meaning new obligations for a broader range of industries. This includes, for the first time, accounting firms, law firms and conveyancers.
Your AML Obligations
In the same way that financial institutions are required to properly identify customers and report suspicious behaviour to the Australian regulator, AUSTRAC, legal document providers like us, accounting firms, law firms and businesses in a number of other industries are required to positively identify their customers. This process is known as "Know Your Customer" or KYC.
Specific professions (known as tranche 2 industries) which are now required to meet AML obligations consist of (but not limited to) Real Estate professionals, Conveyancers, Accountants, Lawyers and Trust and Company Services.
For more details about tranche 2 industries here.
All of us are familiar with the need to produce 100 points of identification when opening a bank account. The amended AML/CTF Act now obliges Tranche 2 businesses to identify clients/customers.
Preparing Your Business
for AML Compliance
Policy and Procedures
It is important that your business has the correct policies and procedures in place to ensure that you are meeting your AML requirements as a Tranche 2 entity. You will need to have a tailored policy prepared for your business which will set out the AML requirements specific to each entity type. The policy will also set out the processes and procedures that must be followed at all times.
Internal Training
Internal training regarding the policy and legislation updates will be mandatory. Your policy should be reviewed periodically, and employees will be required to understand your policy's requirements as well as the AML requirements under the legislation.
Compliance Officer and Reporting Duties
Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, Tranche 2 entities are required to appoint a Compliance Officer who will oversee and monitor your AML obligations to ensure that these are being met. A Compliance Officer's qualification requirements can be found online at AUSTRAC. Annual reporting must be completed with AUSTRAC and any suspicious activity or red flag matters must be brought to your Compliance Officer's attention immediately and reported to AUSTRAC.
What Your Clients Need to Know
Our team at Docscentre and our market leading brands are on a daily mission to rapidly deliver your legal documents. We know this is important to you and your clients.
Under the AML legislation any tranche 2 entity providing designated services is required to verify the identity of their client. If your clients don’t have the correct information available to complete KYC, this could slow down the ordering process at our end.
We’ve developed a guide and checklists of the process and the information you’ll need from your clients. You can view and download these from the Checklist & Guide menu.
Important dates
Put your policy and processes in place. Let your clients know what's coming and how they can prepare.
AML and CTF Act comes into effect for Tranche 2 Entities.
Your annual report to AUSTRAC is due to be lodged between 1 January – 31 March each year.
Get updated with
Handy Resources
You’ll find here some helpful resources we’ve produced along with others supplied by the Federal Government. They’re all designed to make this transition as pain-free as possible for you and your clients.
How We Can Help
We appreciate this will be a difficult and, at times, frustrating change given the far-reaching obligations in the Act. While there is no choice but to implement identity verification, our goal is to arm you with the resources you need to prepare your firm and your clients well ahead of time. This will minimize the risk and ease the transition for you and your staff.
Our helpful team is always only an email or phone call away.
You can reach us anytime at
1800 799 666
hello@amlinfo.com.au
Market Leading Providers
