New Anti-Money Laundering Obligations for Legal Practitioners

The Australian Government has passed the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024, which extends AML/CTF obligations to legal practitioners, including solicitors, barristers, and conveyancers. These new requirements commence on 1 July 2026.

What This Means for Legal Practitioners

From 1 July 2026, legal practitioners providing designated services will be required to:

• Enrol with AUSTRAC as a reporting entity
• Develop and maintain an AML/CTF program
• Conduct customer due diligence and identity verification (Know Your Customer)
• Monitor transactions and report suspicious matters to AUSTRAC
• Keep records in accordance with the AML/CTF Act

Which Legal Services Are Affected?

The obligations apply when legal practitioners provide certain designated services, including:

• Real estate transactions (buying, selling, or transferring property)
• Managing client money, securities, or other assets
• Creating, operating, or managing legal persons or arrangements (companies, trusts)
• Buying and selling business entities
• Certain financial and investment-related legal services

What This Means for Our Clients

As part of our commitment to compliance, Interise Legal is preparing for these new requirements. From 1 July 2026, you may notice some changes when engaging our services:

• Enhanced identity verification — we will need to verify your identity using approved documents before providing certain legal services
• Source of funds enquiries — for some transactions, we may need to understand the source and origin of funds involved
• Ongoing monitoring — we will be required to conduct ongoing due diligence throughout our engagement

These requirements are designed to protect the integrity of the Australian financial system and align Australia with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

How Interise Legal Is Preparing

Our team is already working to ensure a smooth transition:

• Developing our AML/CTF compliance program
• Training all staff on new obligations and procedures
• Updating our client onboarding processes
• Investing in technology to support compliance requirements

We are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for our clients while fully meeting our regulatory obligations.

Need More Information?

If you have questions about how these changes may affect your matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our team is available to discuss the new requirements and what they mean for you.