Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime has expanded to cover additional professions, including legal practitioners.
From 1 July 2026, some legal services will be captured under the AML/CTF framework. Whether a legal practitioner is affected depends on the services they provide, not their area of practice or the label given to the work.
Who the Reforms Apply To
The AML/CTF regime applies to legal practitioners who provide certain designated services.
Not all legal practitioners will be captured by the reforms. Many practices may only be affected in limited circumstances, or not at all. Legal Aid work, including services provided by Legal Aid Commissions and private practitioners under a grant of legal assistance, does not of itself trigger AML/CTF obligations.
Legal practitioners should assess the nature of the services they provide to determine whether their work falls within scope.
What Is a Designated Service?
Designated services are specific activities listed in the AML/CTF legislation.
For legal practitioners, designated services include certain activities relating to:
- Real Estate Transactions: Planning, execution, or acting in a transaction to buy, sell, or transfer real estate.
- Business and Corporate Transactions: Planning, execution, or acting in a transaction to buy, sell, or transfer a body corporate or legal arrangement.
- Management of Funds and Assets: Receiving, holding, and controlling/managing a person’s money, accounts, securities, or virtual assets.
- Corporate Finance: Assisting in organising, planning, execution, or acting in a transaction for equity or debt financing relating to a body corporate or legal arrangement.
- Shelf Companies: Selling or transferring a shelf company.
- Corporate Structuring: Assisting in planning, execution, or acting in the creation or restructuring of a body corporate or a legal arrangement.
- Acting in Key Corporate Roles: Acting as or arranging another person to act as a director, secretary, Power of Attorney of a body corporate, a partner, or a trustee of an express trust.
- Nominee Shareholders: Acting as or arranging another person to act as a nominee shareholder.
- Registered Office Services: Providing a registered office address or principal place of business of a body corporate or legal arrangement.
Whether AML/CTF obligations apply depends on what the practitioner actually does, rather than how the work is described or the practice area they operate in.
All practitioners should be aware of the legislation, even if they don't believe their work currently involves designated services. The scope of these services can be broad, and it's crucial to assess your practice carefully.
What If I Am Unsure?
If you are unsure whether the services you provide are designated services, you should:
- review the relevant legislative provisions;
- consider the substance of the work you perform for clients; and
- monitor further guidance as it is released.
Additional guidance and tools are available to assist practices in assessing whether they are captured by the reforms.