Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) compliance requirements for accountants / business advisers
An important regulatory change t will affect accounting and business advisory firms across Australia from 1 July 2026.
What is changing?
The Australian Government has expanded Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regime to include a number of professional service providers, including accounting and business advisory practices.
As a result, firms such as ours will be required to register with AUSTRAC (the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) and comply with a range of AML/CTF obligations when providing certain designated services.
These requirements apply across the profession and are intended to help prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crime.
What does this mean for you?
For most clients, there will be little or no noticeable change to the services we provide.
However, in some circumstances, we may be required to obtain and verify information about:
- your identity;
- the identity of directors, trustees, shareholders or other controllers;
- beneficial ownership of companies, trusts and other entities;
- the source of funds for particular transactions; and
- the purpose of certain transactions or structures.
In some cases, we may need to request updated information from existing clients, even where we have acted for them for many years.
Why may we request this information?
The new legislation requires firms like ours to undertake customer identification and verification procedures before providing certain designated services.
We appreciate that some of this information may already be known to us. However, the legislation requires us to collect and maintain specific records and, in some cases, verify information using prescribed procedures.
Our commitment to you
We understand that these requirements may occasionally result in additional requests for information. We will endeavour to make the process as straightforward and efficient as possible and will only request information that is necessary to comply with our legal obligations.
Any information collected will be handled securely and in accordance with our privacy obligations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: We’ve been your clients for a long time. Why do you need my ID now?
Because the new legislation requires accounting firms to hold and verify specific information when providing designated services.
Q: Is my information secure?
Yes. Information collected for AML/CTF purposes will be stored securely and handled in accordance with privacy laws.
Q: What services do you provide that may be affected by the new AML/CTF rules?
The new AML/CTF legislation does not apply to all accounting services. Most routine accounting, taxation, bookkeeping, payroll and compliance work will generally continue as normal.
The new requirements primarily apply when we provide certain business, corporate, trust, transaction and advisory services that are classified under the legislation as “designated services“.
Examples of designated services are:
- assisting with the purchase or sale of a business;
- establishing or restructuring companies, trusts or other entities;
- arranging or assisting with changes in ownership or control of entities;
- providing registered office or company secretarial services;
- assisting with certain business or investment transactions;
- acting in relation to the formation, operation or management of legal entities and arrangements; and
- other services specified under the AML/CTF legislation.
Changes to our Terms of Engagement
To reflect these new requirements, we are updating our Terms and Conditions of Engagement to include provisions relating to AML/CTF compliance.
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing
The following provisions will apply to all our engagements where relevant. From time to time, we may need to request information from you in order to meet our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act).
- Where we provide a designated service (as defined under the AML/CTF Act), we are a reporting entity under the legislation and must meet identification and verification requirements.
- Before providing certain services, we may be required to collect information to identify you, your representatives and other relevant parties, and to take reasonable steps to verify that information.
- We will maintain all information collected in a secure manner in accordance with applicable privacy requirements and the AML/CTF Act.
- Information may be disclosed where required by Australian law, including to government agencies, law enforcement agencies or other professional advisers involved in providing services to you where necessary to satisfy AML/CTF obligations.
- Where legally permitted and practicable, we will endeavour to notify you if information collected from you is required to be disclosed for AML/CTF compliance purposes.
- You agree to provide information reasonably requested by us for AML/CTF compliance purposes. If the required information is not provided, we may be unable to provide, or continue to provide, certain services.
The above does not mean that every engagement will require additional identification procedures. The requirements depend on the type of service being provided and the circumstances of the engagement.
Next steps
We will provide you with a revised engagement letter including the above AML/CTF obligation changes when your 2026 compliance work is finalised.
Where the legislation requires us to undertake identification, verification or other AML/CTF procedures, we will explain what information is required and why we need it. Our aim is to make the process as straightforward as possible while complying with our legal obligations.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, please do not hesitate to contact your Maroo Advisory advisor.
