What changed on the day
- Accountants, bookkeepers, real estate agents, buyers agents, lawyers, conveyancers, trust and company service providers and dealers in precious metals and stones became reporting entities for their designated services.
- The 28-day enrolment window started for businesses already providing those services, ending 29 July 2026.
- Customer due diligence, reporting and record-keeping obligations apply from the first designated service provided on or after the date.
What to have in place
- Enrolment with AUSTRAC.
- An adopted AML/CTF program with a risk assessment and policies.
- A named compliance officer, appointed within 28 days and notified to AUSTRAC within 14 days of the appointment.
- A client identification process running for every new matter.
- Staff trained and the training recorded.
AUSTRAC's stated approach
AUSTRAC's regulatory expectations for 2025–26 promise tailored guidance, starter programs and education for new entities, and say enforcement after 1 July 2026 will be prioritised against entities that wilfully ignore the obligation to enrol or are complicit with, or wilfully blind to, money laundering. Read that as a grace on tone, not on deadlines.
Questions people ask
- I started providing designated services after 1 July. When do I enrol?
- Within 28 days of the first service. The window runs from your start date, not from 1 July.
Sources
Official AUSTRAC guidance this page was checked against. The date is when we captured the page; AUSTRAC may have updated it since.
- New AML/CTF Rules · AUSTRAC, captured 27 Dec 2025
- Enrol with us (Reform) · AUSTRAC, captured 05 Dec 2025
- AML/CTF compliance officer (Reform) · AUSTRAC, captured 27 Dec 2025
- AUSTRAC regulatory expectations and priorities for 2025–26 · AUSTRAC, captured 27 Dec 2025