The 2026 AML/CTF reforms: the Amendment Act 2024, the Rules 2025 and the Transitional Rules, explained

Why the regime was reformed

Australia had regulated banks, remitters and casinos since 2006 but, almost alone among comparable countries, had never extended the regime to the professions that structure transactions: accountants, lawyers, conveyancers and real estate agents. The Financial Action Task Force criticised that gap repeatedly. The 2024 reforms closed it and, at the same time, simplified rules that had grown complicated over seventeen years.

Instrument one: the Amendment Act 2024

The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 passed Parliament on 29 November 2024. It did three big things.

1. Added new designated services to section 6 of the Act, bringing Tranche 2 businesses into the regime from 1 July 2026 and virtual asset service providers from 31 March 2026.
2. Replaced the old Part A / Part B program with a single AML/CTF program: a money laundering and terrorism financing risk assessment plus the policies that manage it, with clearer governance duties for the governing body and senior managers.
3. Reformed the tipping-off offence (from 31 March 2025) so that it targets disclosures that could prejudice an investigation, instead of banning almost all disclosure, and reformed how legal professional privilege works in reporting.

Instrument two: the AML/CTF Rules 2025

The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules 2025 were made on 29 August 2025 and commenced on 31 March 2026, replacing the AML/CTF Rules Instrument 2007 (No. 1). They are shorter and organised around the obligations: enrolment, the program, customer due diligence (including the delayed verification windows for property transactions), reporting, record keeping and the compliance officer. For a small Tranche 2 firm, the Rules are where the practical detail lives: what to collect, when verification can be delayed, what an SMR must contain.

Instrument three: the Transitional Rules 2026

The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (Transitional) Rules 2026 smooth the start for new entities. Two provisions matter most to small firms: businesses that enrolled at commencement have until 29 July 2026, or 14 days after enrolling if later, to notify their compliance officer; and the first independent evaluation of the program is staggered between 30 June 2029 and 31 December 2030 according to the last two digits of the AUSTRAC account number, instead of everyone falling due at once.

What changed for existing (Tranche 1) entities

• New Rules from 31 March 2026, including restructuring the program out of Part A / Part B.
• Updated customer due diligence provisions and reliance arrangements.
• New rules for virtual asset service providers and the travel rule.
• The reformed tipping-off offence from 31 March 2025.

What changed for Tranche 2 businesses

• Everything: before 1 July 2026 they had no AML/CTF obligations at all. From that date they must enrol, adopt a program, appoint a compliance officer, verify customers, report, keep records and train staff.
• Enrolment opened on 31 March 2026. A business providing a designated service on 1 July 2026 had 28 days, to 29 July 2026, to enrol.
• Pre-commencement customers (relationships that existed on 1 July 2026) do not need initial due diligence until a trigger event, but ongoing monitoring applies.

How to read the primary sources

Read the Act for the obligations and penalties, the Rules 2025 for the detail of how to comply, the Transitional Rules for the first deadlines, and AUSTRAC's guidance for how the regulator interprets all three. The sources box at the end of this page links the current compilations. AUSTRAC updates guidance often: our news section records each change that affects small businesses.