Agency absorbs AML versus client pays: one listing worked example

People search “agency absorb AML cost” when a suburban agency has one house listed and the principal is deciding whether the office or the seller pays the check. Checked against AUSTRAC's real estate designated services page on 4 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. Whether you can pass the cost on is can you charge the client for an AML check. The client-pays model is client-pays KYC. The sector map is /tranche-2.

One house, two ways to pay

Agency absorb AML cost is a commercial choice on a listing, not a second product. The check is the same. On a person, the public list is A$20 for KYC. The agency emails a link, and either the seller pays at that link, or the agency pays the same amount and does not send the seller a bill for it, and the firm suite does not become a monthly seat because you chose to absorb.

Say which path this listing uses before exchange. A principal who decides at settlement surprises the seller and the trust account. The authority is the place to say it.

• Person seller. One KYC check at A$20 on the public list, paid by the seller or by the agency.
• Company seller. KYB at A$40, then each individual the program requires at A$20. Absorbing means absorbing that set, not only the first invoice.
• Trust seller. Same shape as a company: KYB on the trust, then the individuals. Do not price it as a single person.
• Write it down. The listing file should say who pays. A handshake in the car is not a path.

The listing worked through

Use one suburban house and change only the seller. The designated-service question is assumed to be in scope for this example. If the listing is not a designated service, neither path applies. Fees more broadly, beyond this one house, sit on the estate-agent fees page.

Where the listing example stops

This page is one listing. It is not the whole fee discussion for an agency. That discussion is AML fees for estate agents.

It does not say you must absorb or must charge. The choice is the agency's, within the rules that apply to your retainers. Passing on a cost is can you charge the client for an AML check.

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. Absorbing a listing means the agency pays that listing's checks, and it does not turn the firm suite into a subscription. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. FreeAML does not choose whether your agency absorbs the cost or set the wording of the listing authority.

Frequently Asked Questions