From 1 July 2026, Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements expanded to include the real estate industry.
Real estate agents, buyers’ agents, conveyancers and certain other property professionals are now required to undertake additional checks when assisting clients with property transactions.
For most genuine buyers, the changes will simply mean providing identification and some additional information at the beginning of the buying process. However, understanding the requirements—and preparing your documents early—can help prevent unnecessary delays when the right property becomes available.
What are the new AML requirements?
AML stands for anti-money laundering, while CTF refers to counter-terrorism financing.
Australia’s AML/CTF laws are designed to prevent legitimate businesses and financial systems from being used to disguise the proceeds of crime or fund illegal activities.
Property has been identified by AUSTRAC as a high-risk sector because real estate can be used to hold, transfer or conceal illegally obtained funds. Real estate professionals, including both sales agents and buyers’ agents, are therefore now covered by the AML/CTF framework.
From 1 July 2026, regulated property businesses must meet obligations that include:
- Completing customer due diligence
- Understanding the identity of their clients
- Assessing potential money laundering and terrorism financing risks
- Reporting certain suspicious matters
- Keeping relevant records securely
These requirements now form part of the standard compliance process when buying property in Australia.
What does this mean for property buyers?
The biggest change for buyers is that the professionals assisting with their purchase may need to verify their identity and understand the structure and purpose of the transaction.
This process is commonly referred to as customer due diligence, or “Know Your Customer” checks.
Depending on the buyer and how the property is being purchased, you may be asked to provide:
- Your full legal name, date of birth and residential address
- A current driver licence, passport or other accepted identification
- Information about the purpose of the purchase
- Details about anyone acting on your behalf
- Information about the individuals who ultimately own or control a purchasing entity
- Supporting documents for a company, trust or self-managed super fund
- Information about the source of the funds being used for the purchase
The exact information required will depend on the circumstances and assessed risk of the transaction. Straightforward purchases by individual buyers will generally require less information than transactions involving complex companies, trusts, overseas parties or funds coming from multiple sources.
Will buyers need to prove where their money came from?
Not every buyer will be required to provide extensive evidence about their financial history.
However, property professionals may need to ask questions about the source of funds being used for the transaction. In higher-risk circumstances, they may also need to obtain supporting evidence.
For example, a buyer could be asked whether the deposit or purchase funds are coming from:
- Personal savings
- The sale of another property
- A home loan
- A gift from a family member
- An inheritance
- Business income
- Superannuation funds
- Funds held overseas
Supporting evidence could include a loan approval, bank statement, sale contract, gift letter or other record showing how the funds were obtained.
These questions are not an indication that a buyer has done anything wrong. They are part of the risk-based due diligence requirements that regulated businesses are now expected to follow.
Buyers purchasing through companies, trusts or SMSFs
Buyers purchasing through a company, family trust or self-managed super fund should expect to provide more documentation than an individual purchaser.
This is because the relevant professionals may need to identify and verify:
- The purchasing entity
- Trustees or directors
- Individuals authorised to act for the entity
- Beneficial owners
- The people who ultimately own or control the entity
Depending on the structure, documents may include company extracts, trust deeds, variation deeds, corporate trustee information or SMSF documentation.
Having the purchasing structure confirmed with your accountant, financial adviser, mortgage broker and solicitor before beginning the property search can make this process significantly easier.
It is also important that the purchasing entity shown on your finance approval matches the entity intended to appear on the contract.
Could buyers be asked for identification more than once?
Potentially, yes.
A buyer’s agent, sales agent, conveyancer / solicitor, lender and mortgage broker may each have their own legal or professional obligations. This means a buyer may be asked to complete identification or compliance checks with more than one party.
Where permitted, businesses may establish formal reliance arrangements that allow one regulated professional to rely on customer identification completed by another. However, these arrangements are subject to specific requirements and will not apply in every transaction.
Buyers should therefore not assume that providing identification to one party automatically satisfies every other professional involved in the purchase.
Could AML checks delay a property purchase?
They should not cause significant delays for most buyers, provided the required information is supplied promptly.
Buyers’ agents are generally required to complete appropriate customer due diligence for their clients before providing their buyers agent services. There are limited circumstances where certain checks may be completed later, but inconvenience alone is not a sufficient reason to delay the process.
Completing the required checks during onboarding means your team of buyers agents can focus on the property search and move efficiently when an opportunity arises.
What happens if a buyer does not provide the information?
Real estate professionals cannot simply ignore their AML/CTF obligations.
Where a buyer does not provide the information or identification reasonably required, the professional may be unable to begin—or continue—acting for them.
In some cases, further clarification or documentation may be requested. If concerns cannot be appropriately resolved, the business may need to reconsider whether it can provide the service.
Regulated businesses may also have obligations to report suspicious activity to AUSTRAC. There are legal restrictions around disclosing whether a suspicious matter report has been made, so a professional may not always be able to explain every compliance-related action or request.
How buyers can prepare
To make the process as smooth as possible, buyers should:
- Ensure their identification is current and shows their correct legal name.
- Confirm their purchasing entity before signing an engagement or making an offer.
- Have company, trust or SMSF documents readily available where applicable.
- Keep clear records showing where their deposit and purchase funds are coming from.
- Tell their buyers agent early if funds are being gifted or transferred from overseas.
- Respond promptly to requests from their buyers’ agent, solicitor, lender or other property professional.
What does this mean when working with Setlr?
At Setlr, the AML process is incorporated into our client onboarding so that the required checks can be addressed before the property search begins.
Our focus is to make the process clear, secure and as straightforward as possible. Completing these requirements early helps ensure our team is ready to research, inspect, undertake due diligence and negotiate without avoidable compliance delays when the right property is identified.
The new requirements may add an extra step at the start of the buying journey, but they also help protect buyers, property professionals and the broader Australian property market from financial crime.
For genuine buyers who are organised and transparent about their purchasing structure and source of funds, the process should be relatively simple.
If you would like expert guidance on buying a home in Brisbane, call 1300 1SETLR, email hello@setlr.com.au, or reach out through our online contact form to get started today.
This article provides general information only and should not be relied upon as legal, taxation or financial advice. AML/CTF requirements may differ depending on the buyer, transaction, purchasing structure and professionals involved. Buyers should obtain advice relevant to their individual circumstances.