From 1 July 2026, changes to Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws require professional service firms, including law firms like ours to complete additional identity checks before providing certain services.
These reforms extend obligations that have long applied to banks and financial institutions to professional services, including lawyers and conveyancers, when delivering what the legislation calls "designated services." The purpose of these changes is simple: to make it harder for criminal groups to exploit legitimate professionals to launder money or finance terrorism.
How Will This Affect You?
Where your matter involves a designated service, we are required by law to take a number of steps before we can begin work. These include:
• Collecting information about you and verifying your identity;
• Where you instruct us through a company, trust or other structure, identifying the individuals who ultimately own or control it;
• Understanding the purpose and nature of your matter or transaction;
• Assessing and documenting any money laundering or terrorism financing risk; and
• Keeping proper records of the checks we have carried out.
These obligations apply regardless of how long we have known you or how many matters we have worked on together. They are a legal requirement, not a reflection of any concern about you personally. To learn more about our requirements, please click here.
Which of our Services Are Affected?
AML/CTF requirements apply when we are providing a “designated service”. This typically includes matters where we assist with:
• Buying, selling or transferring real estate
• Buying, selling or transferring a company or legal arrangement
• Managing client funds
• Setting up or restructuring trusts and companies
• Certain financial and transactional advisory services
At the start of each new matter, we will determine whether a designated service is involved and, if so, what level of checks will be required.
What Documents Might You Need to Provide?
The documentation we request will depend on the nature and risk level of your matter. Most clients will be asked to provide some combination of the following:
• Photo identification — such as a passport or driver's licence.
• Proof of address — such as a recent utility bill or bank statement.
• Company, trust or SMSF documents — where you are instructing us through a structure.
• Ownership and control information — for more complex entities, to identify who ultimately owns or controls them.
• Source of funds information — for higher-risk matters only.
Where you are acting through a company, trust or other entity, we will need to identify and verify the individuals behind that structure, not just the entity itself. All documents are submitted through a secure verification platform we have engaged specifically for this purpose.
What Questions Might We Ask?
In addition to identity documents, we may ask questions to help us understand who we are acting for and whether any further due diligence is needed. This includes asking whether you, anyone representing you, or your close family members or business associates are, or have ever been, a politically exposed person (PEP).
A PEP is broadly defined as someone who holds or has held a prominent public position, whether in Australia, overseas, or within an international organisation. This includes senior politicians, judges, ambassadors, senior military officers, senior public servants, and senior officers of state-owned entities.
Being a PEP is not a problem in itself. It simply means we may be required to carry out some additional checks before proceeding.
How Does the Process Work?
We have designed our verification process to be as straightforward and secure as possible. Here is what to expect after you first contact us:
1. Scope the matter — We gather enough information to determine whether your matter involves a designated service requiring AML/CTF checks.
2. Engagement documents — You will receive our costs disclosure and cost agreement, and a description of the work we will be doing.
3. Confirm engagement — Once you have accepted our terms, costs and signed our agreement, we begin the verification process.
4. Share your details — You will be invited to provide your identity information and any relevant documents through our secure verification platform.
5. Verify your information — The platform guides you through providing your details safely and securely.
6. Clarify any questions — If we need anything further, we will be in touch as soon as possible.
7. Complete the assessment — We review the verification results and finalise our risk assessment for the matter.
8. We begin work — Once all checks are complete and we are satisfied, we can get started on your matter.
How We Protect Your Information
We take the privacy and security of your personal information seriously. Everything you provide is handled in accordance with Australian privacy law, our professional and confidentiality obligations as a law practice, and our AML/CTF regulatory obligations.
Your information is used only for identity verification, compliance, and onboarding purposes. We do not use it for marketing, and we will never sell or share your information with third parties for commercial purposes.
To complete the verification process, we use InfoTrack, a reputable Australian platform built for legal compliance. Your information is stored securely in Australia, with industry-recognised ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 9001 certifications, along with advanced security systems designed to detect and prevent unauthorised access.
How Kenny Spring Will Support You
We know that being asked about finances or business structures can feel unexpected from a lawyer. We genuinely understand that. These requirements are new for the legal profession, and we are committed to navigating them with you, providing guidance every step of the way.
If you have any questions about how the new AML/CTF laws might affect your matter, please don't hesitate to contact us.