AML/CTF Program Requirements: What Australian Businesses Need to Know
An AML/CTF program is now mandatory for thousands of Australian businesses. From 1 July 2026, Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws will extend to newly regulated (tranche 2) entities across several sectors. This includes:
- real estate professionals
- conveyancers
- dealers in precious metals, stones and products
- legal professionals
- accountants
- trust and company service providers
If you’re one of these newly regulated entities, new obligations will apply to you from this date. We encourage you to check if you’ll be regulated and read the AUSTRAC reforms guidance explaining your obligations.
Financial crime happens in Australia every day and it costs up to $82 billion a year. Much of the money being laundered through our systems is linked to harmful crime like illicit tobacco, environmental destruction, corruption, child exploitation and human trafficking. Your role in maintaining an AML/CTF program is important in helping protect Australia’s financial system and closing the gaps that criminals seek to exploit.
5 Key Obligations Under Your AML/CTF Program
From 1 July 2026 you must have an AML/CTF program in place. This program needs to meet your obligations and address the specific money laundering, terrorism financing (ML/TF) and proliferation financing risks your business faces. Here are the 5 key steps to get ready:
- Enrol with AUSTRAC. Enrolment opens on 31 March 2026. You must enrol with AUSTRAC by 29 July 2026 through AUSTRAC Online (AO) to meet your new compliance obligations.
- Prepare the right information. As part of your enrolment, you’ll need to include information about the services you provide, your business, your details as an applicant and earnings.
- Have an AML/CTF program. By 1 July 2026, you will need to have an AML/CTF program, either using the program starter kit we provided or have developed your own.
- Appoint an AML/CTF compliance officer. You must have an AML/CTF compliance officer who oversees your program and ensures your business meets its obligations.
- Train your staff. Have trained your staff on your AML/CTF program, internal processes and your ML/TF risks, and be ready to engage with customers and clients and report suspicious matters.
Enhanced Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Under Your AML/CTF Program
Enhanced CDD plays an important role in detecting, disrupting and preventing money-laundering and terrorism-financing (ML/TF). Conducting enhanced CDD can help you identify, assess, manage and mitigate your customer’s ML/TF risks.
We’re hosting a series of 3 CDD essentials webinars designed to support your CDD obligations. You can find out more information about the webinars and register on our website. Before you attend the webinars, we recommend you watch the CDD overview video.
How to Start Preparing Your AML/CTF Program
- Learn why the reforms are necessary
- Learn who and what we regulate
- Understand the risks and indicators of suspicious activity
- Read our summary of obligations for newly regulated entities
- Register for our webinars that are designed for our newly regulated businesses
Together, we can stop crime where it hides.
More Information and Support for Your AML/CTF Program
We know this is a big change, especially since AML/CTF regulation is new to your business. So, we’ve developed practical support and guidance to help you:
- Program starter kits which we co-designed with industry to help typical small businesses in tranche 2 sectors meet their AML/CTF obligations
- AUSTRAC AML/CTF essentials checklist to guide you through steps to help you prepare for regulation
- AML/CTF obligations factsheet includes a summary of what you need to do to comply with your AML/CTF obligations
- AML/CTF essentials webinar series that are designed to help you prepare for AML/CTF obligations
For businesses that need assistance with their AML/CTF program compliance, our AML Compliance Workflow tool provides a structured 5-step process to help you assess your risks and generate professional compliance documentation.