New AML/CTF Laws: What It Means For Our Clients
From 1 July 2026, new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) requirements will apply to some of the services provided by accountants and other professionals. These changes are designed to strengthen Australia’s financial system and stop criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds and prevent the funding of terrorist activities.
These reforms follow updates made by the Government in late 2024 to simplify and modernise the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, while extending the rules to higher-risk services and industries.
For accounting firms, the new rules apply when we provide certain “designated services”. These may include services such as setting up new entities (such as companies, Trusts and super funds) or helping with particular business structures or transactions. When you engage us to perform those services, we must meet a range of AML/CTF obligations.
For clients, this means we will need to collect and verify identification documents and ask a few extra questions before we can provide some services. This includes our existing clients, even if we have known you personally for a number of years. In some cases, we may also need information about the people who own or control a business or entity, even if they are not clients of our firm.
What this means for you
In preparation for these changes, we will be commencing the process over the next few months of collecting the required additional data. You may be sent data collection forms or questionnaires, similar to those now being issued by banks and investment funds, which you may either complete yourself and return or have us complete for a small fee on your behalf.
Because of these additional identification and compliance steps, some services may take longer than they have in the past. For example, setting up a company or trust, onboarding a new client, or preparing a quote for certain services may now take at least one week.
We are preparing for these changes now so we can continue to support our clients smoothly and efficiently. If you have any questions about how the new AML/CTF requirements may affect you, please feel free to contact us.