For conveyancers
AML/CTF for Australian conveyancers: complete 2026 practice guide
Australian conveyancers providing designated services entered the AML/CTF regime on 1 July 2026. The central regulated activity is not the professional title but assisting, planning, executing or otherwise acting for a person in a sale, purchase or transfer of real estate. Related control of settlement money or other property can be a separate item 3 service. A compliant workflow starts before the file reaches settlement: classify the service, identify the customer, recognise the factual start point, complete risk-based CDD and control changes in parties, funds and instructions. This pillar guide connects those decisions across the matter lifecycle. It is general information and should be read with the current Act, Rules, AUSTRAC guidance and the conveyancer's own AML/CTF program.
See the conveyancers AML/CTF workspaceScope the property service at file opening
Table 6 item 1 can cover acting for a person in the sale, purchase or transfer of real estate, including a transfer without consideration. Conveyancing activities can include preparing or reviewing contracts and transfer documents, conducting title, strata or land-use searches, coordinating discharge and payments, handling financial settlement and lodging registry documents. The Act's real-estate definition includes specified long-term interests and is not limited to an ordinary house sale.
General information before a transaction exists may not yet directly advance a designated transaction. Once the conveyancer accepts instructions and acts on a sufficiently identifiable transaction, the position can change quickly. Also assess item 3 when the practice receives, holds and controls, disburses or manages customer money or property to advance the transaction. Record each service separately, including any applicable exception.
Know who the AML/CTF customer is
For a conveyancer providing table 6 item 1, the customer is generally the person the conveyancer assists or acts for. This differs from a table 5 real-estate broker, for whom both seller or transferor and buyer or transferee are statutory customers even when the agent represents only one side. A conveyancer should not copy the real-estate-agent rule and automatically describe every counterparty as its own customer.
Identify the client, any representative and authority, and whether the client receives the service on behalf of another person. For a company or trust client, establish the entity, ownership and control and the individuals required by the Rules. If the conveyancer acts for more than one person, analyse each person's customer status and conflicts independently. Keep the counterparty details needed for transaction risk separate from the statutory CDD record for the conveyancer's customer.
Complete risk-based CDD before the service starts
Initial CDD is ordinarily completed before providing the designated service. Establish identity, representative authority, beneficial ownership where relevant, the nature and purpose of the relationship and the information needed to assess customer, service, channel and jurisdiction risk. Apply PEP and targeted-financial-sanctions checks as required. Verify using reliable and independent documents or data proportionate to risk, and resolve contradictions before treating the file as complete.
The Rules contain a defined delayed CDD route for a buyer or transferee customer in relevant professional real-estate work. It is not a general settlement grace period. The statutory conditions, specified period and the conveyancer's documented policy must all be satisfied. Seller-side work does not simply inherit that buyer-specific route, and commercial urgency alone is not enough.
Control settlement risk and reporting decisions
Build expected funding and payment facts into the matter profile: purchase price, deposit, finance, expected account names, source of relevant funds where required, settlement recipients and any third-party contribution. Escalate unexplained cash or virtual-asset proposals, opaque entity buyers, rapid resales, price inconsistencies, third-party payments, last-minute destination changes or reluctance to explain ownership or funding. An indicator is a prompt for inquiry, not proof of criminality.
Where facts support enhanced CDD, obtain and corroborate additional information under the program. If a suspicion is formed on reasonable grounds, consider the applicable SMR deadline and preserve tipping-off controls. Fraud controls such as verified account details, dual approval and call-back procedures remain essential but do not replace AML/CTF assessment.
Retain an auditable matter timeline
A defensible file links the scope decision, start trigger, customer and representative, CDD evidence, ownership map, screening, purpose, risk rating, enhanced measures, delayed-CDD basis, settlement funds record and reporting decisions. Timestamp material changes and record who approved them. Keep the reason for accepting or rejecting inconsistent evidence rather than retaining only the final document.
Reassess at milestones: offer or agreement, contract exchange, finance changes, nomination or assignment, ownership changes, source or destination changes and settlement. The AML/CTF program should tell staff when to pause, who can approve continuation and how to communicate with the client without disclosing any SMR consideration. AUSTRAC's conveyancing starter kit can help a business structure controls, but it must be tailored to the practice's actual services and risks.
Official sources
Use these primary AUSTRAC pages to confirm the current rules and apply them to your circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
Does every conveyancing client require the same checks?
No. Required initial CDD matters must be established, but the method and depth are risk based and customer-type specific. A straightforward individual and a foreign layered trust require different evidence. Apply the current Rules and the procedures documented in the conveyancer's AML/CTF program.
Must a conveyancer always complete CDD on the other side?
Not merely because the person is the counterparty. Under table 6 item 1, the conveyancer's customer is generally the person assisted or represented. This differs from table 5 real-estate brokering, where both sides are customers. Shared CDD arrangements and transaction-risk inquiries can still involve counterparty information.
Does using an electronic settlement platform complete AML/CTF compliance?
No. A settlement platform supports execution and may provide useful data, but it does not decide service scope, verify every required person, establish beneficial ownership or assess risk for the conveyancer. The reporting entity remains responsible for its program and obligations.
Can a conveyancer use AUSTRAC's starter kit without changes?
The starter kit is a practical foundation, not a substitute for understanding the business. Tailor services, customer types, risks, delivery channels, escalation roles, CDD methods and controls to the practice, then keep the program current as services and risks change.
Put it into practice
Cassandra AML turns these obligations into a working system: designated-service decisions, customer due diligence, screening, monitoring and reporting records — hosted in Sydney, free to start.
This guide is general information for Australian professionals. It is not legal advice and does not replace the AML/CTF Act, the AML/CTF Rules or AUSTRAC guidance. Confirm your specific obligations with AUSTRAC or a qualified legal adviser. See our editorial and correction standards.