New Anti-Money Laundering (AML/CTF) Reforms and What They Mean for Our Clients

From 1 July 2026, Australian law firms are now subject to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regime, which brings the legal profession into line with obligations that have applied to banks, financial institutions and other regulated sectors for many years.

These reforms are administered by AUSTRAC and are designed to strengthen Australia's ability to detect and prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crimes.

You can read more about the changes on the AUSTRAC website here, and in the links at the bottom of this page.

Why Are These Changes Being Introduced?

The reforms extend AML/CTF obligations to certain professional service providers, including lawyers, accountants, conveyancers and real estate professionals. These obligations require firms to better understand who they are acting for, assess the nature of certain transactions and identify potential money laundering or terrorism financing risks.

What Legal Services Are Affected?

The legislation applies to specific activities known as designated services, rather than all legal work. Whether AML/CTF obligations apply depends on the type of work to be completed.

These obligations may also apply to existing clients where we commence a new matter that constitutes a designated service or where we are required to update our client due diligence information.

Examples include assisting with:

• Property transactions;
• The purchase, sale or transfer of companies, trusts and other legal structures;
• Managing client funds or property as part of a transaction;
• Creating or restructuring companies or trusts; and
• Certain corporate, financing and fiduciary arrangements.

If the legislation applies to your matter, we will explain the requirements and guide you through the process.

What Information May We Request?

To comply with our legal obligations, we may need to collect information to verify identity and better understand the nature of a transaction before we can provide certain legal services.

Depending on the circumstances, we may request:

• Identification documents;
• Contact and address details;
• Information about the purpose and nature of the transaction;
• Information about the source of funds for a transaction, and where required, source of wealth;
• Information about companies, trusts, SMSFs or other entities involved;
• Details of individuals who ultimately own or control an entity; and
• Other information required to satisfy our legal obligations.

How Will This Affect Our Clients?

In some matters, we may be required to complete verification checks before we can provide certain legal services and onboard a client. In most cases, the process is straightforward. If information is required, we will explain what is needed, why it is required and how it can be provided securely.  Our aim is to make the process as efficient and straightforward as possible while meeting our regulatory obligations.

Protecting Your Information

We recognise that the information requested may be personal or commercially sensitive. Any information collected will be handled securely and in accordance with our professional duties, privacy obligations and confidentiality requirements.

We will only request information that is reasonably necessary to comply with the AML/CTF legislation and provide legal services to you. AUSTRAC has provided templated documents as examples for the collection of data and the forms we will send are based on these.

For more information, visit:

AUSTRAC – About the AML/CTF Reforms
https://www.austrac.gov.au/industry-and-business/about-amlctf-reforms/about-reforms

AUSTRAC – Professional Designated Services
https://www.austrac.gov.au/new-austrac/designated-services-newly-regulated-entities/professional-designated-services

AUSTRAC – Customer Due Diligence
https://www.austrac.gov.au/industry-and-business/obligations-and-guidance/your-amlctf-program/customer-due-diligence

Department of Home Affairs – Changes to Customer Due Diligence
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/criminal-justice/Pages/changes-to-customer-due-diligence.aspx

These requirements apply to all Australian law firms providing designated services. While they may involve us requesting some additional information from our clients, these checks play an important role in protecting the integrity of Australia’s financial system.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we meet our legal obligations and continue to support you with your legal needs.

If you have any questions about how these changes may affect you or your matter, please contact your Aitken Partners representative.