AML Mate / Journal
Practical articles and guides for Australian professionals working through AML/CTF obligations.
104 articles Page 5 of 9
Under the amended AML/CTF rules, keeping every scanned ID on file is no longer the safe option. It can be a privacy breach. Here is what a Tranche 2 firm must retain for seven years, and what it should now destroy once identity is verified.
Since 1 July 2026, accountants, lawyers and real estate agents are reporting entities. A client identity check is one small part of that, not the whole of it. Here is what AUSTRAC actually requires, and why 'my software already does AML' can leave you exposed.
The most common question from firms in the first week of the new AML/CTF regime: what about the clients we already act for? Two answers are circulating, re-onboard everyone and you have until 2029, and AUSTRAC's guidance supports neither. Here is what a pre-commencement customer actually is, the two triggers that end the exemption, and what you still owe on your legacy book.
easyAML starts at $179/month plus GST with $20 per KYC check and a 12-month term. AML Mate starts at $49/month with verifications included and no lock-in. A straight, sourced comparison of the two Tranche 2 compliance platforms: pricing, verification, screening, reporting, training, and who each one actually suits.
AML/CTF obligations went live on 1 July. The next date with real teeth is 29 July 2026: the deadline to enrol with AUSTRAC and notify your compliance officer. Enrolment is administrative, takes about 30 minutes if you arrive prepared, and has nothing to do with whether your program is finished. Here is exactly what the form asks for, what to gather before you open it, and the five mistakes firms are already making.
From today, the newly regulated Tranche 2 businesses (accountants, lawyers, conveyancers, real estate agents and high-value dealers) are inside the AML/CTF regime. If you are not fully ready, do not panic. AUSTRAC has said plainly it expects genuine effort, not perfection on day one. Here is the plain-English version: the two dates that matter, the steps you actually need to take, and where to start today.
From 1 July 2026, newly covered firms have to confirm that a client is who they say they are, and keep a record of how they did it. This is the practical heart of customer due diligence. Here is how identity verification actually works under the reformed regime: what you have to establish, the two routes of documents and electronic data, where the Document Verification Service (DVS) fits, why a biometric selfie is a layer rather than a substitute, and how to match the method to the client's risk.
Most of the 1 July countdown is about getting a program ready. One operational rule bites the soonest, and it reverses a habit of a lifetime: from 1 July you complete customer due diligence before you provide a designated service, not once the matter is underway. Here is what 'before' actually means for your next new client, why doing the work first and the paperwork later no longer holds, and how to make the check a quick step rather than a delay.
Most 1 July preparation is about documents you produce. There is a quieter change worth knowing: under the AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024, AUSTRAC can issue a section 172A notice compelling a person to attend an examination, answer questions, and hand over documents. AUSTRAC says it is not routine or punitive, and receiving one does not mean it believes you broke the law. Here is what the power is, what an examination involves, and why the best preparation for it is simply running your program and keeping the records.
AUSTRAC does not knock on your door on 1 July 2026. The day that matters comes later, when someone asks what you did, and by then the answer is whatever you wrote down. Good faith only counts if it left a trail. Here is the minimum evidence set a small firm should be able to produce: the records each obligation is supposed to leave behind, why a decision not to report still has to be documented, and how to make sure the work you do this week actually shows.
One week out from 1 July 2026 and you have not started? You are not going to build a perfect compliance function in seven days, and AUSTRAC does not expect one. What you can do is be running. Here is the honest, priority-ordered last-week plan for a small firm: what actually falls due on 1 July, what does not, and the six steps that move you from nothing to a program you are operating in good faith.
AUSTRAC financial intelligence helped a Western Australia task force locate an alleged fugitive and disrupt an escape, the second such case in a week. The line that matters for Tranche 2 firms is the CEO's: financial intelligence is no longer just about following the money, it is about identifying people and pinpointing their movements. From 1 July 2026 the reports your firm files are what place those people on the map.
