Preparing For Australia’s New Anti-Money Laundering Laws

Australia’s anti-money laundering laws are undergoing their biggest shake-up in over two decades. From 1 July 2026, a wider range of professional services providers, including accountants, lawyers, conveyancers and real estate professionals, have come within AUSTRAC’s regulatory net for the first time.

If you run a business, hold a director role, act as a trustee, or invest through a company or trust structure, it’s worth understanding what’s changing and what it may mean for you.

What Are Australia’s New Anti-Money Laundering Laws?

The reforms (commonly referred to as Tranche 2) extend AML/CTF obligations beyond banking, financial services and gambling, the sectors that have carried the weight of the regime for the past twenty years. Under the expanded rules, accountants, lawyers, conveyancers, real estate professionals and dealers in precious metals and stones will join tens of thousands of newly regulated businesses inside AUSTRAC’s framework.

The underlying Act — the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act — sets the framework for detecting and preventing financial crime by requiring regulated businesses to identify risks, verify customers, and report suspicious activity where required.

Why the Rules Are Being Overhauled

For years, Australia has been something of an outlier among comparable economies, regulating banks and casinos closely while leaving lawyers, accountants and real estate agents almost entirely outside the anti-money laundering regime. Yet these “gatekeeper” professions are among the easiest routes for illicit funds to enter the legitimate economy through property purchases, company formations and trust structures.

That gap hasn’t gone unnoticed internationally. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets the global benchmark for anti-money laundering standards, has repeatedly flagged the exclusion of these professions as a weakness in Australia’s defences. Left unaddressed, it risked Australia being formally assessed as non-compliant with international standards. Such a rating carries real reputational and economic consequences, from affecting correspondent banking relationships to making it harder for Australian entities to transact internationally.

The reforms respond directly to that pressure. They also mark a philosophical shift: rather than applying a uniform checklist to every business, AUSTRAC is moving to an outcomes-focused, risk-based model. This assesses whether a business’s systems actually work to detect and disrupt money laundering, not just whether the paperwork exists. In practical terms, the reforms are expected to bring around 90,000 additional businesses into scope, which is a scale of expansion that touches almost every professional services firm with property, trust or company work on its books.

Who Will Be Affected

The 2026 AUSTRAC changes bring several new sectors into scope, including:

• • Accountants: Particularly those providing designated services involving company or trust structures and other activities captured under the expanded AML/CTF regime
  • Lawyers and conveyancers: Where they assist with property transactions, trusts or company structures
  • Real estate professionals: Given the potential for property transactions to move illicit funds or conceal ownership
  • Dealers in precious metals and stones

What This Means for Your Business

Businesses that become reporting entities will need to introduce processes around identifying, assessing and managing financial crime risk. A key requirement is understanding who your clients are, who ultimately owns or controls an entity, and where funds originate. This is particularly relevant for companies, discretionary trusts and investment structures where ownership can involve multiple parties.

Reporting entities will also need to assess their exposure to money laundering and terrorism financing risk based on the services they provide, their client types, transaction activity, ownership structures and geographic exposure, then maintain a documented AML/CTF program covering risk management, customer identification, reporting procedures, staff training and record keeping. Where suspicious activity is identified, it must be reported to AUSTRAC.

None of this is designed to slow down legitimate transactions. It’s designed to make unusual ones easier to spot.

Trusts and Company Structures Under the New Regime

Many Australians use discretionary trusts, companies and investment structures for entirely legitimate reasons: asset protection, succession planning and sensible business organisation. That doesn’t change under the new framework.

What does change is the premium placed on transparency. Professional service providers will need clearer information about who controls an entity, who benefits from a structure, and where funds originate. If you’re reviewing how your trust structure is set up, now is a sensible time to check that it still reflects how you actually operate.

How to Prepare for the New AML Obligations

Start by reviewing your existing structures and confirming your records accurately reflect current trustees, directors, shareholders and beneficiaries. It’s also worth checking that trust deeds, company records and identification documents are up to date and easy to access.

If your business may fall within the expanded AML/CTF regime, now is the time to understand your obligations and ensure any required AUSTRAC registration and compliance processes are in place. Taking action early can help avoid unnecessary delays and make it easier to meet the new requirements.

If you’re planning to buy property, restructure a business, or establish new entities in the months ahead, it’s worth discussing the new obligations with your adviser early so compliance doesn’t become an unexpected hurdle later in the process.

Unsure How the New AML Laws Apply to Your Business?

Working out whether Australia’s new anti-money laundering laws apply to your business, trust or company structure, and what you may need to do as a result, is something worth addressing sooner rather than later.

Our team can help you understand how the new requirements apply to your circumstances, review your existing business or trust structure, and identify any practical steps you may need to take. Whether you’re unsure if you’re captured by the reforms or simply want peace of mind that your affairs are in order, we’re here to provide clear, practical advice without the jargon. Get in touch, today!