From 1 July 2026, law firms that provide certain services are reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). We are enrolled with AUSTRAC as a reporting entity. That means for some matters we must collect and verify information about you before we can act.
These checks apply to every client who uses the services the law covers. They aren’t a reflection on you, and we’ll keep them as simple as we can.
When the checks apply
- Buying or selling real estate, including for investors, trusts, companies and SMSFs.
- Setting up or restructuring companies and trusts, including family trusts and SMSF holding trusts.
- Managing money or other property for you, in some circumstances.
- Other services the law designates. We’ll tell you at the start if your matter is covered.
What we’ll ask for
- Your identity, such as your full name, date of birth and residential address, verified against documents or reliable electronic sources.
- Who’s behind a company or trust, including directors, trustees, shareholders and the individuals who ultimately own or control it (its beneficial owners).
- The nature and purpose of the work, so we understand what you’re asking us to do.
- Where the money is coming from, in some cases, such as the source of funds for a purchase.
- Whether you, or someone connected with you, holds a prominent public position, and whether any sanctions apply. We may be required to do more checks if so.
How we verify your identity
We usually verify identity electronically through InfoTrack, an Australian provider, which is quick and avoids posting or copying documents. In some cases we may ask for certified copies of documents instead. Where the AML/CTF Act allows, we may rely on verification already carried out by another reporting entity involved in the same transaction, such as your lender.
What happens after that
- We may ask you to update your information during the matter, or if your circumstances change.
- We keep records for at least seven years, as the AML/CTF Act requires.
- We must report certain matters to AUSTRAC, including suspicious matters and some cash transactions. The law may prevent us from telling you that we’ve made a report.
- If we can’t complete the checks, we may not be able to act for you. The law doesn’t allow us to provide the service until they’re done.
Your privacy and security
We handle the information we collect for AML/CTF purposes in line with our privacy policy. Scammers sometimes use fake requests for ID to steal personal information. If you receive an unexpected request for identity documents that claims to be from us, call us on (02) 4611 7092 to check before you reply. Our scams and fraud page has more tips.
This page is general information only and is not legal advice.
Questions about our checks?
Talk to us
Before you instruct us
If you’d like to know what we’ll need for your matter, give us a call. We’re happy to explain the process upfront so there are no delays.