What’s changing
From 1 July 2026, legal professionals will be brought within Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regime (known as Tranche 2).
This long-anticipated change brings Australia in-line with global standards and introduces new compliance obligations for law firms when providing certain services.
When AML/CTF obligations apply
The new obligations will apply when we provide specific “designated services”, including:
assisting with property or business transactions
handling client money or assets for a transaction
assisting with forming or restructuring companies, trusts or partnerships
providing nominee roles or registered office services.
When these services are involved, we are required to complete Client Due Diligence (CDD) checks before proceeding.
For other legal services, we may still request certain information where appropriate, to protect your interests and ensure we meet our professional obligations.
Client information sheet
We have prepared a client information sheet to help you understand what the new AML/CTF laws may mean for your matters, what information may be needed, and how you can prepare to help transactions progress smoothly.
Download the client information sheet
How we will work with you
We are committed to implementing these new requirements in a way that is efficient, proportionate and consistent with our legal, professional and ethical obligations.
When AML/CTF obligations apply, we may ask you to provide or confirm information about your identity, ownership or control structure, the nature and purpose of the matter and, in some cases, the source of funds or wealth connected with a transaction.
We will keep our requests targeted and proportionate, use information we already hold where possible, and clearly explain what is needed. Higher-risk matters may require more detail, while lower-risk matters will typically involve straightforward verification.
For a practical summary of what we may ask for, why we need it and how we will handle your information, please see our client information sheet.
You may notice additional safeguards, such as:
identity and structure checks – verifying beneficial ownership of your business or trust and source of funds or wealth
ongoing monitoring – reassessing risk if your circumstances change or as new information becomes available
record keeping – securely retaining certain information for a minimum of seven years
reporting obligations – in limited cases, reporting suspicious activity to AUSTRAC without notifying you.
These requirements are designed to uphold transparency and trust, and to help protect your business and reputation. If we cannot complete the required checks, we may be unable to proceed with a particular transaction or service unless alternative measures or additional information can be provided.
Minimising disruption
We recognise that these requirements may involve providing information that has not previously been requested by a law firm. We will work with you to keep the process as straightforward as possible, including by using information we already hold, public registers and trusted data sources where appropriate.
Protecting your information
Confidentiality and privilege remain core to our relationship. As always, your information will be handled with care in accordance with privacy laws, our professional obligations and our commitment to ethical conduct. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
Our commitment to you
At G+T, we’re taking a forward-thinking, technology-led approach to these reforms. This involves enhancing our onboarding and risk management processes, training our people and leveraging technology to reduce client impact.
We will work with you every step of the way, explaining what’s required, answering questions and keeping things as simple as possible. If you would like to learn more, please speak to your usual G+T contact or email us at AML@gtlaw.com.au.
Last updated: June 2026 — subject to future guidance and legislative developments