Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) reforms came into effect on 1 July 2026. These checks are a standard legal requirement and apply to many clients and services. For property solicitors and conveyancers, more formal due diligence and compliance are required.
Whether you are captured by the new AML/CTF reforms depends on whether you provide a ‘designated service’. Unless an exemption applies, you will provide a designated service’ if you provide any of the services listed in the tables in the new legislation to a client.
The following are some examples of the types of matters that AML/CTF checks are likely to be required for in the realm of property law: real estate transactions, holding funds in trust to enable a transaction, assisting in the sale or purchase of an entity including share sale agreements, transferring ownership of a trust and selling or transferring a business.
The following are examples of types of matters that are exempt from AML/CTF requirements: property transfers as a part of probate or resulting from an order of a Court, advising on property law issues (and not actually acting in any property transaction), acting in property litigation, title searches, transactions relating to leases under 30 years, receiving a judgment sum into our trust account, paying invoices for clients including mediators and expert witnesses.
Please be aware that these examples must be considered in the context of the facts available and the AML/CTF Act.
Regulatory Relief Mechanisms
Further exemptions are available through Regulatory Relief Mechanisms. For example, a business or transaction that is naturally low risk or faces undue hardship can apply for class exemptions or individual modifications under the AUSTRAC Exemption Rules & AUSTRAC Declaration framework.
As these new obligations require more formal anti-money laundering checks, new systems and processes have been implemented by our firm to deal with these new requirements and our staff have undergone extensive training in the new legislation.
Further information on AML/CTF requirements and obligations can be obtained from the following link: https://www.austrac.gov.au/
