News & Insights

As foreshadowed earlier in the year, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AMT/CTF) Bill passed 29 November 2024, so time is ticking for Professional Services to get their heads around the new compliance requirements. The legislation is set to capture the Accounting and Legal sector with some obligations due as early as March 2026 and others to follow 1 July 2026.

The intent of the Bill is an earnest effort to prevent money laundering activity, however, it may mean a huge compliance leap for those organisations that may be poorly resourced to address the requirements. Everyone would agree that preventing money laundering and terrorism is a good thing. Still, businesses be warned, compliance of this standard will need a huge amount of time, resourcing and attention, so there is little time to seek advice.

Why include Professional Services in the AML/CTF regime?

Professional Services often maintain a close advisory relationship with their clients, offering guidance on both personal and business matters, and can range from accountants, lawyers, conveyancers, brokers, trust providers, notaries, financial planners, tax agents, wealth advisors and more. However, this close involvement also exposes Professional Services to potential exploitation, especially when clients engage in activities that may violate tax laws, AML/CTF regulations, or other criminality. This means there’s a risk Professional Services may unwittingly facilitate money laundering or terrorism financing, or innocently provide the criminals’ required veneer of legitimacy.

The regulation of Professional Services as ‘tranche 2 entities’ aims to provide Professional Services businesses with tools to interrupt the misuse of their legitimate services by criminals, and to help Professional Services identify early indicators of suspicious transactions and criminality.

Does the Bill cover professions beyond Accounting and Legal?

While accountants and lawyers are some of the more obvious Professional Services covered by the Bill, the Act covers businesses based on whether they provide a ‘designated service’, and the services are intended to be competitively neutral. This means professions such as conveyancers, shell company providers, notaries, financial planners, wealth advisors and tax agents to name a few — will also need to comply with the regulations.

What are the “designated services” covered by the Bill?

The “designated services” that relate to professional services, applying to Professional Services, will capture various professions as detailed below.

1. A professional that assists 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.

This is where:

• • the service is provided in the course of carrying on a business; and
  • the sale, purchase or other transfer is not pursuant to, or resulting from, an order of a court or tribunal;

2. A professional that assists 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 a body corporate or legal arrangement.

This is where:

• • the service is in the course of carrying on a business; and
  • the sale, purchase or other transfer is not pursuant to, or resulting from, an order of a court or tribunal;

3. A professional receiving, holding and controlling (including disbursing) or managing a person’s money, accounts, securities and securities accounts, virtual assets or other property.

The above would be done as part of assisting the person in the planning or execution of a transaction, or otherwise acting for or on behalf of a person in a transaction, in the course of carrying on a business (some limited exceptions).

4. A professional that assists in organising, planning or executing a transaction, or otherwise acting for or on behalf of a person in a transaction, for equity or debt financing.

This would be in relation to:

• a body corporate (or proposed body corporate); or
• a legal arrangement (or proposed legal arrangement);
• in the course of carrying on a business.

5. A professional that sells or transfers a shelf company, in the course of carrying on a business.

6. A professional that assists a person to plan or execute, or otherwise acting on behalf of a person in, the creation or restructuring of a body corporate (other than a corporation under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006) or a legal arrangement, in the course of carrying on a business.

7. A professional that acts as, or arranging for another person to act as, any of the below, on behalf of a person (the nominator), in the course of carrying on a business.

This includes:

• a director or secretary of a company;
• a power of attorney of a body corporate or legal arrangement;
• a partner in a partnership;
• a trustee of an express trust;
• a position in any other legal arrangement that is functionally equivalent to a position mentioned in any of the above paragraphs(some limited exceptions).

8. A professional that acts as, or arranging for another person to act as, a nominee shareholder of a body corporate or legal arrangement, on behalf of a person (the nominator), in the course of carrying on a business.

9. A professional that provides a registered office address or principal place of business address of a body corporate or legal arrangement, in the course of carrying on a business.

How can legal compliance support help my business prepare?

The AML/CTF regime is complex and has a lot of policies, procedures and training that will need to be introduced. The time to prepare relevant documentation and the costs involved to comply with the regime means there is little time to seek advice and be ready to comply with the legislation by the date for compliance.

Our trade teams are happy to assist with all or some of the following:

• Advice on whether you need to comply and the steps you can be taking now to prepare for the legislation compliance dates.
• Foundational AML/CTF training seminars for your business and staff, outlining how the regime will apply to Professional Services.
• Auditing your current products, services, practice and procedures, to ascertain the scope of “designated services”.
• Undertaking a risk assessment of your current business and helping you assess your business’ risk appetite.
• Preparing the drafts of your required AML/CTF policies and Program documents.
• Providing updates and communications to clients/customers on the AML/CTF changes.

Please reach out to our expert trade and compliance team for support as Professional Services rush to navigate what the recent passing of the Bill will mean for them in the new year.

The information contained in this article is general in nature and cannot be relied on as legal advice nor does it create an engagement. Please contact one of our lawyers listed above for advice about your specific situation.