Sectors · Conveyancers

AML/CTF for conveyancers: what is caught, and when it starts

Acting on a sale, purchase or transfer of real estate can be a Table 6 item 1 designated service. This guide shows what is caught, when the AML/CTF workflow starts and how CDD differs from existing identity checks.

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Quick answer

Almost every settlement is a designated service

For conveyancing, the service test centres on assisting with the sale, purchase or transfer of real estate. Existing verification-of-identity processes and AML/CTF CDD are related but not the same obligation.

Whether your business is a reporting entity depends on the designated services you provide — not on having an ABN or being based in Australia. Check AUSTRAC’s sector guidance, and seek professional advice for your situation.

The full guide

AML checks for conveyancers: every step of a settlement

Where the designated service starts, what the checks look like at each step from contract to settlement, and how they sit alongside the VOI Standard.

Read it

Your work, sorted

Which conveyancing work is caught

The “Where” column shows whether each row is a designated service, an exclusion in the Act or an example from AUSTRAC’s guidance. Caught rows link to the article that covers them in full.

Which conveyancing work is caught
The work	Caught?	Where
Acting on the sale or purchase of a house or land	Caught	Item 1
Transferring title between related parties	Caught	Item 1
Conveyancing to give effect to a binding financial agreement between separating parties	Caught	Item 1 (AUSTRAC guidance)
Acting on a transfer made under a court or tribunal order	Not caught	Item 1, para (b)
Granting or registering a lease	Not caught	No sale, purchase or transfer
Refinancing a mortgage where the owner stays the same	Not caught	The interest does not change hands
Advising on the legal effect of terms in the contract	Not caught	AUSTRAC guidance — influences, does not advance
Advising on rights over a property already bought and settled	Not caught	AUSTRAC guidance — no live transaction

The legislation

Item 1, in the Act’s own words

The Act — s 6(5B) table 6, item 1
“assisting a person in the planning or execution of a transaction, or otherwise acting for or on behalf of a person in a transaction, to sell, buy or otherwise transfer real estate, where: (a) the service is provided in the course of carrying on a business; and (b) the sale, purchase or other transfer is not pursuant to, or resulting from, an order of a court or tribunal”
Customer: the person. Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth), s 6(5B) — table 6.

This is the one Table 6 item the AML/CTF Rules address specifically: the delayed-CDD and reliance provisions for real estate transactions reach item 1, and nothing else in Table 6. The conveyancing guide covers how that works at settlement.

Two things to get right

When the service starts, and why VOI is not enough

The designated service starts when the contract is prepared

Not at the first enquiry. On a typical sale it starts when the seller’s conveyancer or lawyer drafts the contract of sale, and the deposit then lands in a trust account at exchange. Customer due diligence has to be done before you provide the service, so it belongs at the start of the file, not at settlement.

Your VOI check is not your customer due diligence

Verification of identity under the ARNECC VOI Standard confirms who your client is. AML/CTF customer due diligence also asks who owns or controls a company, trust or SMSF buyer, requires a risk assessment of the customer and screening for politically exposed persons and sanctions, and in higher-risk cases looks at source of funds. The VOI check is a part of it, not the whole of it.

See it in Lex-AML

Watch the full user journey

Lex-Brisbane Conveyancing, a fictional Brisbane practice, acts for Emily Turner on the purchase of her first home. Rachel Morgan, the practice’s AML/CTF compliance officer, runs the matter in the Lex-AML Organisation Workspace; Emily only uses the Customer Portal.

Video thumbnail: Lex-AML for Conveyancers — Complete End-to-End Walkthrough

Or watch it in six short parts

The whole series on YouTube

One example of how a matter in a conveyancing practice can run in Lex-AML, which is configured around each organisation’s own AML/CTF program. The business and its customers are fictional, the identity and screening checks use demo providers, and no real customer information is shown. The organisation makes every customer due diligence decision. Not legal advice.

What follows

What a conveyancing practice has to do

In the order the Act sets them, once the business provides a designated service.

Before the first designated service — have the required ML/TF risk assessment and AML/CTF policies in place, and complete initial customer due diligence unless an exemption or permitted delayed-CDD rule applies. CDD explained
Within 28 days after starting — if not already enrolled, apply to enrol with AUSTRAC, and designate the AML/CTF compliance officer if one is not already designated.
Ongoing — apply ongoing customer due diligence, make required reports and keep the required records.

See how the AML/CTF program fits together →

If this is work you do

Which of these services does your firm provide?

Lex-AML starts by recording the designated services your firm actually provides, then helps you organise your AML/CTF program, customer due diligence and audit trail around them.

Request demo access Or ask for a quote for your firm

Watch

Conveyancers: what the law actually asks

How real-estate transfer work fits Table 6 and the AML/CTF workflow around a matter.

Video thumbnail: Conveyancers — settlements under the new law (s 6, table 6)

Read the transcript, with the law quoted

Questions

AML/CTF for conveyancers: common questions

Are conveyancers covered by the AML/CTF Act?

Yes, for most of their work. From 1 July 2026, assisting a person in the planning or execution of a sale, purchase or other transfer of real estate — or acting for them in it — is a designated service under item 1 of Table 6 in section 6(5B).

Is a lease or a refinance caught?

No. Item 1 needs a sale, purchase or other transfer of real estate. Granting or registering a lease, or refinancing where the owner stays the same, has no transfer in it.

Is my VOI check enough for AML/CTF purposes?

No. The VOI Standard verifies identity. AML/CTF customer due diligence also covers beneficial ownership of company, trust and SMSF buyers, a risk assessment of the customer, PEP and sanctions screening and, where risk is higher, source of funds.

When do I have to do the checks?

Before you provide the designated service. On a typical sale the service starts when the contract of sale is prepared, so the checks belong at the start of the file.

What does a conveyancing practice have to do first?

Before first providing a designated service, have the required ML/TF risk assessment and AML/CTF policies in place and complete initial customer due diligence unless a lawful exception applies. If the business is not already enrolled, it must apply to enrol with AUSTRAC within 28 days after it starts providing the service, and designate an AML/CTF compliance officer within the same period if it has not already. Ongoing customer due diligence, suspicious matter reporting and record keeping continue after that.