Australia has recently expanded its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws to cover a wider range of professions including lawyers, conveyancers, accountants and real estate agents.
These changes were enacted through the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 and have applied across the country since 1 July 2026.
Law firms providing certain legal services, known as “designated services,” are now required to do more checks in this area – like verifying client identities, running risk assessments and reporting suspicious matters to the authorities. They are also expected to maintain stringent AML/CTF internal programs.
Why has the law changed?
For some time now, Australia has regulated its banks, casinos and other financial institutions under AML laws. However, international experts and law enforcement agencies identified that criminals were using property transactions, companies, trusts and other legal structures to move and disguise illicit funds. The international body that sets standards to stop money laundering recommended Australia expand its laws to cover professional services involved in these transactions.
Lawyers often assist clients with significant transactions involving property, trusts, companies and business structures. While most clients are acting lawfully, these types of transactions can sometimes be misused by criminals trying to conceal the origin of illegally obtained money.
What does this mean for you?
The biggest change under the new laws will be the amount of information you will be asked to provide when engaging lawyers for designated services such as buying or selling real property, restructuring companies or trusts, or anything which requires us to move funds through our trust account.
We will need to verify your identity, confirm the source of funds being used in a transaction and determine who ultimately owns or controls a company or trust involved in a matter. To speed up this process, our clients will be sent a link via our AML platform where you will need to verify your identity and answer other questions. At Simmons Wolfhagen we also offer a service where you can come into one of our statewide offices and fill out AML forms in person.
While these extra checks may initially seem inconvenient, they will soon become routine in certain parts of legal practice. Rest assured that we will treat the extra information that you provide to us in accordance with privacy laws and our privacy policy.
For more information contact our Conveyancing or Commercial & Corporate Law team for tailored advice.