Tranche 2 is in force: what 1 July 2026 still means in October

People search “1 July 2026 AML” when a firm in October still talks about 1 July 2026 as if the start date were ahead of them. Checked against AUSTRAC’s summary of Tranche 2 obligations on 4 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. The plain explainer is what Tranche 2 is. Living with the regime after the start is Tranche 2 after it started. The sector map is /tranche-2.

October is after the start

1 July 2026 was the day the new obligations began for firms that provide a designated service. AUSTRAC’s summary is the frame, and this page does not reproduce it. Standing in October, the useful reading is short: the date has passed. A firm that is still planning to “get ready for July” is late to its own sentence.

The date does not tell you whether your particular service is designated. It tells you that the waiting period people talked about before July is over. If the service is in scope, the program, the customer steps, and the governance are current work. This page does not invent a penalty and it does not invent an extension.

• Say the date in the past tense. “When it starts” is the wrong mood in October. Staff training should match the tense.
• Do not invent a grace period. Nothing on this page extends July. If you have not enrolled and you should have, that is an enrolment question, not a new start date.
• Separate the explainer from the calendar. What Tranche 2 contains is a longer page. This one only stops people treating July as future.
• Then do the current work. The program you approved, the customer on the file in front of you, and the check the program requires. The date does not do those for you.

Three ways people still say the date

Listen for the tense. The tense tells you whether the firm has understood the calendar.

Where the October date page stops

This page is the date, read after it. It is not the explainer and it is not the longer note on operating once the regime has started. Those are what Tranche 2 is and Tranche 2 after it started.

What the client pays

On FreeAML the firm suite is A$0. The firm emails the client a link. Verification is client-pays. On the public list a personal KYC check is A$20 and a company or trust KYB check is A$40. Use KYB when the customer is a company or a trust. The start date is not a product, and the firm suite does not include a grace period or an enrolment. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. FreeAML does not enrol your firm or decide that October is still before the start date.

Frequently Asked Questions