Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws are changing. From 1 July 2026, the AML/CTF regime will extend to a broader range of professional services, including certain services provided by accounting firms, legal professionals and real estate professionals.
For HW One clients, this means there may be some additional steps when engaging us to assist with certain services. In most cases, these steps will involve confirming your identity and, where relevant, providing information about a transaction, business structure, source of funds or ownership arrangements.
These changes are not a reflection on you and/or your business. They are part of a national reform designed to help prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crime.
Why the laws are changing?
Australia’s AML/CTF laws are being expanded to close gaps that can be exploited by organised crime and other illicit actors.
Historically, AML/CTF obligations have applied mainly to banks, financial institutions and other regulated sectors. The reforms extend the regime to certain “designated services” provided by professionals who may be involved in business transactions, company and trust structures, management of client money, or other arrangements involving the movement or management of funds.
What is changing for accounting services?
The new obligations do not apply to all accounting work.
The obligations apply only where HW One provides particular services that fall within the AML/CTF regime. These may include services such as:
- Assisting with the buying or selling of a business;
- Setting up, managing or restructuring companies, trusts or other legal arrangements;
- Acting as, or arranging for another person to act as, a director, secretary, partner, trustee or nominee shareholder;
- Managing client money, securities or other assets;
- Providing a registered office, business address, correspondence address or administrative address for a company, partnership or trust; and
- Acting on behalf of a client in certain financial transactions.
Where a matter involves a designated service, HW One will need to complete AML/CTF checks before work can start, or before certain steps in the matter can progress.
What are HW One’s obligations?
As a provider of designated services, HW One will be required to carry out compliance measures under the AML/CTF laws. These include client identification and verification, understanding the nature and purpose of certain engagements or transactions, and identifying relevant ownership and control structures.
To assist with these processes, HW One uses EasyAML. EasyAML is an Australian-developed platform that uses secure technology to help protect your personal information while supporting identity verification and AML/CTF compliance requirements.
Where AML/CTF checks are required, clients may be asked to complete secure online checks or provide documents through the EasyAML platform.
What this means for HW One Clients
From 1 July 2026, if a matter involves a designated service, HW One may ask clients to provide additional information or documents. Depending on the nature of the engagement, this may include confirming or re-confirming the following:
- Identification documents, such as a driver licence or passport;
- Date of birth, residential address and other background details;
- Information about a business or ownership structure;
- Details of beneficial owners or controlling persons;
- An explanation of the purpose of the engagement or transaction;
- Information about the source of funds or source of wealth;
- For Companies:
- Details of directors, shareholders or nominee arrangements; and
- For Trusts/SMSFs:
- A copy of the trust deed and details of trustees, appointors and beneficiaries.
These requests are now a standard part of the new compliance process. Providing the requested information promptly will help HW One avoid delays and keep your matter moving.
Protecting client information
HW One takes the privacy and confidentiality of client information seriously. Any information collected as part of our AML/CTF processes will be handled carefully and in accordance with our professional obligations and applicable privacy requirements.
What clients can do?
The key takeaway is that AML/CTF checks are now a standard part of doing business in Australia for certain business, trust, company and transaction-related matters.
If HW One asks you for information or documents, responding promptly will help us complete the required checks and progress your matter as efficiently as possible.
