The Three Documents That Define Australia's AML/CTF Regime
A plain‑English guide to the Act, the Amendment Act, and the Rules — the three foundational documents every Tranche 2 reporting entity needs to understand before 1 July 2026.
Executive Summary
Australia's anti‑money laundering regime is built on three documents that work together. The Act (2006) establishes the framework and defines who is regulated. The Amendment Act (2024) extends the regime to Tranche 2 entities — real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, conveyancers, precious metals dealers, and trust and company service providers. The Rules (2025) provide the operational detail — how to enrol, how to verify customers, what your AML/CTF program must contain, and what to report.
Understanding how these three documents fit together is the first step toward compliance. This article provides an overview of each document, what it covers, and where to find the specific provisions that apply to your business.
Why Three Documents?
How Australian legislation works
If you're a small business owner trying to understand your AML/CTF obligations, the first challenge is that the law isn't in one place. It's spread across three separate documents, each made by a different body, each serving a different purpose.
This isn't unusual in Australian law. Parliament passes Acts to set up the broad framework. Regulators then make subordinate legislation (called Rules or Regulations) to fill in the operational detail. When the framework needs a major update, Parliament passes an Amendment Act.
For Australia's AML/CTF regime, the three documents are:
The primary legislation. Defines what money laundering offences look like, who is regulated, what designated services trigger obligations, and the penalties for non‑compliance.
Think of it as the constitution of Australia's AML/CTF regime — it establishes the framework, the rights, and the consequences.
How to read them together: Start with the Act to understand whether you provide a designated service (Section 6, Tables 1–6). Then check the Amendment Act for the Tranche 2 tables (Schedules 3 and 6). Then go to the Rules for the operational requirements — how to enrol, what your program needs, and how to conduct CDD.
The Act: What It Covers
Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Act 2006
The AML/CTF Act is the primary legislation. Originally passed in 2006, it has been amended multiple times — most significantly by Act No. 110, 2024. The current compilation (No. 59) reflects the law as at 31 March 2025.
The Act is structured in 17 Parts. For Tranche 2 entities, the most important are:
| Part | Title | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | Definitions, designated services (Tables 1–6), geographical link requirements. This is where you find out whether your business is regulated. |
| 2 | Identification Procedures (CDD) | Customer due diligence obligations — verifying customer identity before providing a designated service. Initial, ongoing, enhanced, and simplified CDD. |
| 3 | Reporting Obligations | Suspicious matter reports (SMRs), threshold transaction reports (TTRs), and international funds transfer instructions (IFTIs). What to report, when, and to whom. |
| 3A | Reporting Entities Roll | Enrolment with AUSTRAC — every reporting entity must enrol within 28 days of providing a designated service. |
| 5 | Electronic Funds Transfer Instructions | Requirements for tracking information in electronic transfers — ensuring the payer and payee can be identified. |
| 6–6A | Registers | The Remittance Sector Register and the Virtual Asset Service Provider Register — registration requirements for high-risk sectors. |
| 10 | Record-Keeping | Reporting entities must keep records for 7 years. Records of customer identification, transactions, and reports filed. |
| 11 | Secrecy and Access | Rules around who can access AUSTRAC information and the confidentiality obligations on reporting entities. |
| 12 | Offences | Criminal offences for non-compliance — including tipping off (alerting a customer that a suspicious matter report has been filed). |
| 15 | Enforcement | AUSTRAC's enforcement powers — infringement notices, enforceable undertakings, remedial directions, injunctions, and civil penalties. |
Section 6: The Designated Services Tables
Section 6 of the Act is the single most important section for determining whether your business is regulated. It defines designated services across six tables. If your business provides any service listed in these tables with a geographical link to Australia, you are a reporting entity and must comply with the Act.
Key point: Tables 5 and 6 were added by the Amendment Act 2024 but do not commence until 1 July 2026. This means the current compiled text of the Act (Compilation 59) does not yet show these tables in the body of the law — they appear as uncommenced amendments. You need to read the Amendment Act directly to see the full text of Tables 5 and 6.
The Amendment Act: What Changed
Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024
The Amendment Act (formally Act No. 110, 2024) was passed on 29 November 2024. It is the most transformative change to Australia's AML/CTF regime since the original Act commenced in 2006. The Bill was structured in 11 Schedules, each targeting a specific area of reform.
Schedule 3 is the one that matters most for Tranche 2. It adds two new tables to Section 6 of the Act: Table 5 (real estate services — 2 designated service items) and Table 6 (professional services — 9 designated service items). It also expands Table 2 to cover dealers in precious metals, stones, and products for transactions of $10,000 or more.
Table 6 — The 9 Professional Service Items
Table 6 is the table that brings lawyers, accountants, conveyancers, and trust and company service providers into the regime. Each item describes a specific service — not a profession. Whether you are caught depends on what you do, not what you call yourself.
| Item | Designated Service | Who This Typically Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assisting in the sale, purchase or transfer of real estate | Lawyers, conveyancers, accountants acting for a party in a property transaction |
| 2 | Assisting in the sale, purchase or transfer of a body corporate or legal arrangement | Lawyers, accountants assisting in business sales, trust transfers, company acquisitions |
| 3 | Receiving, holding, controlling or managing client money, accounts, securities, virtual assets or other property | Any professional holding client funds as part of a transaction (trust accounts, escrow) |
| 4 | Assisting in equity or debt financing for a body corporate or legal arrangement | Accountants, lawyers arranging financing for companies or trusts |
| 5 | Selling or transferring a shelf company | TCSPs, lawyers, accountants selling pre-registered companies |
| 6 | Assisting in the creation or restructuring of a body corporate or legal arrangement | Lawyers, accountants setting up companies, trusts, partnerships, joint ventures |
| 7 | Acting as (or arranging for) a director, secretary, power of attorney, partner, or trustee on behalf of another person | TCSPs providing nominee directors, nominee trustees, nominee partners |
| 8 | Acting as (or arranging for) a nominee shareholder | TCSPs, lawyers arranging nominee shareholdings to hold shares on behalf of another |
| 9 | Providing a registered office address or principal place of business address | TCSPs, virtual office providers providing a registered address for a body corporate |
The Rules: How It Works in Practice
Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Rules 2025
The Act tells you what you must do. The Rules tell you how. Made by the AUSTRAC CEO under the authority of the Act, the Rules 2025 replace the previous AML/CTF Rules 2007 (which had been amended over 80 times). They were registered on 29 August 2025 and apply from the relevant commencement dates — 31 March 2026 for existing reporting entities and 1 July 2026 for Tranche 2 entities.
The Rules are structured in 12 Parts plus a Schedule of forms:
| Part | Title | Rules | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preliminary | 1-1 to 1-9 | Definitions — including domestic politically exposed persons, enrolment details, and registrable details. |
| 2 | Reporting Groups | 2-1 to 2-4 | How to form a reporting group, designate a lead entity, and discharge obligations across group members. |
| 3 | Enrolment | 3-1 to 3-9 | Application process — what information to provide, how to correct entries, and advising changes. This is where the enrolment form requirements live. |
| 4 | Registration | 4-1 to 4-35 | For remittance providers and virtual asset service providers — application, suspension, cancellation, renewal. |
| 5 | AML/CTF Programs | 5-1 to 5-20 | The heart of operational compliance. ML/TF risk assessment, CDD policies, targeted financial sanctions, governance, compliance officer requirements, personnel training, independent evaluations, and the specific rules for real estate transactions. |
| 6 | Customer Due Diligence | 6-1 to 6-43 | The largest part. Initial CDD for every customer type (sole traders, bodies corporate, trusts, government bodies), delayed verification, simplified CDD, enhanced CDD, PEP requirements, nested services, transferred customers, reliance arrangements, real estate-specific CDD, and ongoing monitoring. |
| 7 | Correspondent Banking | 7-1 to 7-4 | Due diligence for correspondent banking relationships — entry assessment and ongoing monitoring. |
| 8 | Transfers of Value | 8-1 to 8-14 | Ordering, beneficiary, and intermediary institution obligations. International value transfer service requirements. |
| 9 | Reporting | 9-1 to 9-16 | Suspicious matter reports (form, content, timeframes), threshold transaction reports ($10K+ cash), AML/CTF compliance reports, and cross-border movement reports. |
| 10–12 | Secrecy, Other Matters & Transitional | 10-1 to 12-3 | Secrecy provisions, miscellaneous items, and transitional arrangements for entities moving from the old rules to the new regime. |
For Tranche 2 entities, focus on Parts 3, 5, 6, and 9. Part 3 tells you how to enrol. Part 5 tells you what your AML/CTF program must contain (risk assessment, policies, compliance officer, training, independent evaluations). Part 6 is the detailed CDD process. Part 9 covers your reporting obligations. Together, these four parts define the day‑to‑day operational requirements.
Key Rules for Tranche 2 Entities
How the Three Documents Fit Together
The relationship explained
The three documents form a hierarchy. The Act sits at the top — it's the primary legislation passed by Parliament. The Amendment Act modifies the Act. The Rules sit underneath — they are made by AUSTRAC under authority granted by the Act and cannot contradict the Act.
In practice, when you need to answer a compliance question, you often need to check all three. For example, if you want to know whether you need to verify a customer's identity:
What This Means for Tranche 2
The practical bottom line
If you are a real estate agent, lawyer, accountant, conveyancer, precious metals dealer, or trust and company service provider who provides one or more of the designated services defined in Tables 2, 5, or 6 of Section 6, you are a reporting entity under the AML/CTF Act. This means you must:
From 31 March 2026. Must enrol within 28 days of providing a designated service.
Act Part 3A · Rules Part 3
Risk assessment, policies, procedures — tailored to your business.
Act Part 2 · Rules Part 5
Verify identity before providing a designated service. Ongoing monitoring.
Act Part 2 · Rules Part 6
A fit and proper person to oversee your AML/CTF policies.
Act s26N · Rules 5-14
Suspicious matters, threshold transactions ($10K+ cash), cross-border movements.
Act Part 3 · Rules Part 9
Customer identification, transactions, reports filed.
Act Part 10
Key Dates
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References & Further Reading
Primary sources used in this article
Primary Sources
- Federal Register of Legislation — Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Act 2006 — Compilation No. 59 Link
- Federal Register of Legislation — Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 Link
- Federal Register of Legislation — Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Rules 2025 Link
- Parliament of Australia — AML/CTF Amendment Bill 2024 — Explanatory Memorandum Link
- Department of Home Affairs — Overview of the AML/CTF Amendment Act Link
- AUSTRAC — New Industries and Services to Be Regulated Link
- AUSTRAC — Professional Services (Reform) — Table 6 Guidance Link
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Request Early AccessDisclaimer: This article is published by GetPost Labs Pty Ltd, a technology company building compliance software. All content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or compliance advice. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, this article may contain errors or omissions. Always refer to the authoritative text on legislation.gov.au and seek professional advice for your specific circumstances. If you spot an error or have a suggestion, please reach out to sumit@getpostlabs.io.