Aus­tralian Anti-Mon­ey Laun­der­ing AML/CTF Tranche 2 Laws Are Coming

Australia’s Anti-Mon­ey Laun­der­ing and Counter-Ter­ror­ism Financ­ing (AML/CTF) Act is designed to stop ille­gal funds from enter­ing the finan­cial sys­tem. It is esti­mat­ed to be a $68 bil­lion prob­lem in Aus­tralia alone. This leg­is­la­tion aims to stop the flow of crime mon­ey and bring us in line with the rest of the world.

From 1 July 2026, pro­fes­sion­al ser­vices firms, includ­ing law, account­ing and real estate, will be required to:

• Ver­i­fy client identity
• Assess the risk of mon­ey laun­der­ing in any trans­ac­tion we are engaged to pro­vide ​‘des­ig­nat­ed ser­vices’ (e.g. prop­er­ty and busi­ness transactions)
• Report sus­pi­cious behav­iour to AUS­TRAC

How am I affected?

We may need to col­lect ID doc­u­ments, com­pa­ny records, trust deeds, or infor­ma­tion on the source of funds from you.

If a per­son is unwill­ing to pro­vide these records, a pro­fes­sion­al firm will not be able to act on that per­son­’s behalf. 

Com­pli­ance is not option­al. It is now required by law in Aus­tralia. Each check is a small act of pro­tec­tion, help­ing stop crim­i­nal activ­i­ties and keep­ing dirty mon­ey out of Australia.

Why do we need your ID? 

As part of the new AML laws, pro­fes­sion­al ser­vices firms like Swaab are required to ver­i­fy the iden­ti­ty of all clients from 1 July 2026.

This helps pro­tect the finan­cial sys­tem from mis­use and brings us in line with glob­al AML standards.

How your infor­ma­tion is handled

• We only col­lect what’s required by law
• Your data is stored secure­ly and han­dled in confidence
• It’s used only for reg­u­la­to­ry purposes

Work­ing together 

As we approach 1 July 2026, Swaab will work with our clients to ensure the tran­si­tion to this new reg­u­la­to­ry envi­ron­ment is as smooth as is possible.

For further information please contact:

Michael Byrnes, Partner
Phone: + 61 2 9233 5544
Email: mjb@swaab.com.au

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.