Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Changes

What This Means for Our Clients

New AML/CTF Requirements for Accounting Firms

From 1 July 2026, Australian accounting firms that provide certain services are required to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act.

These new laws have been introduced to help prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crimes. They apply to accounting firms when providing specific services known as designated services.

As part of these obligations, we may be required to verify the identity of our clients and obtain additional information before we can provide certain services.

What Does This Mean for You?

If we are providing a designated service, you may be asked to:

• Provide proof of identity, such as a current driver's licence or passport.
• Confirm your residential address.
• Provide information about the ownership and control of companies, trusts or other entities.
• Explain the purpose of a transaction or engagement.
• Provide information about the source of funds or source of wealth where required.
• Update identification documents if they have expired or your circumstances have changed.

For business clients, we may also need to verify the identities of directors, shareholders, trustees, partners, beneficial owners or other individuals associated with the entity.

Our AML/CTF Verification Process

Under the AML/CTF Act, we are required to complete customer due diligence before providing certain designated services.

To ensure we can provide these services efficiently and avoid delays when they are requested, we may complete the required identity verification at the commencement of our engagement or before a designated service is provided.

This may include verifying:

• Individuals who engage our firm to receive designated services.
• Companies, trusts, partnerships and other entities that are receiving designated services.
• Directors, trustees, partners, beneficial owners and other individuals associated with those entities where required by the legislation.
• Any new entity or associated individual introduced as part of a future engagement involving a designated service.

Completing these verification requirements early helps ensure we can continue to provide advice and services without unnecessary delays while meeting our legal obligations under the AML/CTF Act.

AML/CTF Compliance Costs and Fees

We believe in being transparent with our clients about the costs associated with these new legislative requirements.

The introduction of AML/CTF obligations has created significant additional compliance responsibilities for accounting firms, including licensing, identity verification, customer due diligence, record keeping, staff training and ongoing compliance monitoring. We also incur third-party costs each time an individual or entity is verified.

These costs fall into two categories:

• Third-party verification costs – fees charged by our external identity verification provider to verify individuals and entities.
• Compliance and administration costs – the time required to complete customer due diligence, review verification results, maintain legally required records and meet our ongoing obligations under the AML/CTF Act.

To help recover a portion of these costs, the following one-off verification fees apply:

Corporate Trustee Structures

Where a trust has a corporate trustee, both the trust and the company acting as trustee are separate legal entities and must each be verified under the AML/CTF legislation. Accordingly, a verification fee applies to both the trust and the corporate trustee.

These verification fees are generally a one-off charge unless legislation requires us to undertake further verification due to changes in ownership, control, identification details, risk profile or other circumstances requiring updated customer due diligence.

Where additional verification or enhanced due diligence is required, we will discuss any additional costs with you before proceeding.

Existing Clients

Even if you have been a client of our firm for many years, the legislation or our verification policy may require us to verify your identity before we provide certain services.

This is a legal and regulatory requirement that applies across the accounting profession and is not a reflection of our relationship with you.

How Will Identity Verification Work?

To make the process as simple and secure as possible, we use a secure electronic identity verification platform.

Depending on your circumstances, you may receive a secure email or SMS requesting you to:

• Upload your identification documents.
• Complete a quick identity verification.
• Answer a small number of questions relating to your entity or transaction.

The process is designed to be fast, secure and completed entirely online.

Protecting Your Privacy

We understand that your personal information is important.

All information collected as part of our AML/CTF obligations is handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy obligations. Your information is stored securely and used only for the purposes of complying with our legal obligations.

Why Are We Asking for This Information?

The AML/CTF legislation requires us to:

• Verify the identity of our clients.
• Understand who we are acting for.
• Understand the nature and purpose of the services being provided.
• Assess the level of risk associated with an engagement.
• Maintain records and monitor our client relationships as required by law.

If we are unable to complete the required verification or obtain sufficient information, we may be unable to provide certain services until our legal obligations have been satisfied.

We Appreciate Your Cooperation

We appreciate that these new requirements may be unfamiliar. They now apply to accounting firms across Australia and play an important role in protecting the Australian financial system from money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crime.

Our team is committed to making the verification process as simple and efficient as possible and is available to answer any questions you may have.

If you would like more information about our AML/CTF obligations or the identity verification process, please contact our office. We are always happy to assist.

Frequently Asked Questions