For precious metals dealers
Jeweller AML/CTF obligations in Australia from 1 July 2026
From 1 July 2026, an Australian jewellery business provides the new precious-items designated service when it buys or sells qualifying precious metals, stones or products in the course of business and the purchase involves at least A$10,000 in physical currency, virtual assets, or a combination of those methods, in one transaction or linked transactions. Jewellery, watches and other personal adornments containing precious metals or stones can be precious products. The rule does not automatically capture a sale paid only by card or bank transfer under this designated service, and bullion is regulated separately. The payment threshold makes point-of-sale design critical: a jeweller may cross into regulation through instalments, an exchange or a later cash top-up. This guide explains the operating obligations after commencement and the controls needed before accepting regulated payments.
See the precious-items dealers AML/CTF workspaceStep-by-step process
Classify inventory and payment methods
Identify precious metals, stones and products, separate bullion, and map every way customers can pay, exchange or receive refunds.
Set the regulatory payment rule
Configure sales processes to detect A$10,000 or more in physical currency or virtual assets across single and linked transactions.
Complete customer due diligence
Identify and verify the customer and relevant parties, establish purpose and risk, screen required people and apply enhanced measures when triggered.
Monitor linked activity
Connect customer, item, invoice, store, payment, exchange and refund records so staff can identify apparently linked transactions.
Make each reporting decision
Assess TTRs, SMRs and other reports separately, lodge within the applicable deadline and protect suspicious-matter information.
Retain and review evidence
Keep the complete sale and compliance record, test the controls and update the program when products, channels or payment methods change.
Work out which products and payments are regulated
Classify inventory that meets the statutory definitions. Precious products include jewellery, watches, personal adornments and goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares made of, containing or having attached precious metal or precious stone. Synthetic or man-made stones may still fall within the definition when the statutory characteristics are met. Bullion is outside this particular item and belongs in a separate bullion compliance pathway.
The A$10,000 test looks at the physical-currency and virtual-asset component used for qualifying items, including linked payments. Do not assume the total invoice alone answers the question. A mixed basket may contain regulated and unregulated items, and a payment may combine a regulated method with card or bank transfer. Capture item classification, payment method and allocation so the business can explain its conclusion.
Have the AML/CTF program operating before the service
A regulated jeweller needs to enrol with AUSTRAC, assess the ML/TF risks it reasonably faces, document and maintain an AML/CTF program, assign governance responsibilities, train relevant personnel, conduct CDD, monitor customers, report when required and keep records. The program must reflect the business's products, customers, payment methods, delivery channels and jurisdictions rather than reproduce a generic policy.
AUSTRAC's jeweller program starter kit is designed for a defined small-business profile and may need adaptation. In particular, its suitability criteria do not cover every business that accepts virtual assets, sells bullion, serves complex non-individual or higher-risk customers, operates remotely or provides other designated services. Record why the starter kit is suitable or what additional controls were added.
Build CDD into sales and purchasing
Collect enough information early to identify when linked payments may reach the threshold and complete required initial CDD before providing the designated service, subject only to lawful delayed-CDD circumstances. Identify and verify the customer, any representative and relevant beneficial owners; establish purpose and risk; check PEP and targeted-financial-sanctions matters; and apply enhanced CDD where required.
The customer may be the buyer when you sell or the seller when you buy. Second-hand purchasing therefore needs the same disciplined intake as a retail sale. Train staff not to disguise CDD as an optional store preference and give them a safe escalation path when required identity, ownership or purpose information cannot be established. Source-of-funds or source-of-wealth information is collected and verified when a current PEP or enhanced-CDD requirement applies, or when a risk identified under the dealer's policies makes the check appropriate; it is not a mandatory document pack for every regulated sale.
Detect linked payments across the whole business
Monitor deposits, lay-by instalments, split tenders, exchanges, refunds, repairs with upgrades, purchases at different stores and payments made by related people. Transactions may be linked because they concern the same items, invoice, arrangement, outstanding balance, common purpose or customer pattern. There is no simple end-of-day reset that turns connected instalments into unrelated sales.
If the business accepts physical currency or virtual assets below A$10,000, it still needs processes to detect linked or apparently linked transactions that reach the service threshold. Connect point-of-sale, customer, invoice and refund data, and give staff a method to link a new payment to the original sale even when another store or employee processed it.
Separate TTR, SMR and record-keeping decisions
A threshold transaction report is required for an individual transfer of A$10,000 or more in physical currency and is generally due within ten business days after the transaction. Separate cash payments are treated separately for TTR purposes; they are not automatically added together to create a TTR. Virtual-asset payments do not themselves trigger a TTR. Those rules are distinct from adding linked cash and virtual-asset payments to decide whether the precious-items service is regulated.
Consider an SMR when the facts, taken together, create reasonable grounds for a relevant suspicion, including suspected structuring. A risk indicator or cash threshold alone is not the section 41 test. Restrict specified SMR-related information and do not disclose it where the disclosure would or could reasonably be expected to prejudice an investigation. Retain item, invoice, payment, CDD, risk, monitoring, reporting and approval records so the business can reconstruct the sale and show how it met each obligation.
Official sources
Use these primary AUSTRAC pages to confirm the current rules and apply them to your circumstances.
- AUSTRAC — Precious metals, stones and products designated services
- AUSTRAC — Jeweller program starter kit: Getting started
- AUSTRAC — Threshold transaction reports
- AUSTRAC — Source of funds and source of wealth
- AUSTRAC — Enhanced customer due diligence
- AUSTRAC — Suspicious matter reports
- AUSTRAC — Tipping off
- Federal Register of Legislation — AML/CTF Act 2006
Frequently asked questions
Is every jewellery sale worth A$10,000 regulated?
No. Under the precious-items designated service, the qualifying purchase or sale must involve at least A$10,000 in physical currency, virtual assets or a combination of those regulated methods, whether in one or linked transactions. A sale paid only by card or bank transfer is not this designated service, although another service or obligation may still apply.
Does a lay-by become regulated when linked payments reach A$10,000?
It can. Payments toward the same item, invoice, balance or arrangement can be linked. If qualifying precious items are bought or sold using linked physical-currency or virtual-asset payments that reach the threshold, the service is regulated. Design the process to recognise the approaching threshold before the service is provided.
Is bullion covered by the jeweller threshold rule?
Bullion is a separate designated service with different scope and an initial-CDD exemption for certain sub-A$5,000 transactions where enhanced CDD is not required. A jeweller that also trades bullion must add a bullion risk assessment and workflow instead of relying only on the jeweller starter kit.
Can a jeweller avoid regulation by refusing cash and virtual assets?
A business that genuinely does not accept the regulated payment methods may fall outside this particular precious-items service. The policy must operate in practice across every store and channel, including deposits, refunds and mixed payments. If the business accepts sub-threshold cash or virtual assets, it must still detect linked transactions that could reach A$10,000.
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.