AML for accountants in Australia

A search for “aml for accountants australia” is a principal asking what the Australian regime now asks of the practice, not for a product tour. From 1 July 2026, professional designated services can make an accounting firm a reporting entity for that work. Checked against AUSTRAC’s professional designated services and who and what AUSTRAC regulates on 2 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce those pages. The sector map is /tranche-2.

This is the sector page

This page is the sector page for an Australian accounting practice. It is not the designated-services list. It is not the checks workflow. Those pages already exist. Use them for the question they answer, and use this page to see how the pieces sit together.

The service test is AML for accountants: designated services. The nine professional items, shared with lawyers and conveyancers, are Table 6 designated services. The checks workflow, once a service is in, is AML checks for accountants. This sector page does not restate that workflow. Software is AML software for accountants. Bookkeeping is AML for bookkeepers. The short tax cut is AML accounting. A longer practice checklist remains Tranche 2 for accountants.

What stays with the practice

The reporting entity is the practice that provides the designated service. One in-scope engagement can make the firm a reporting entity for that service while the rest of the week stays outside. What that split means is reporting entity Australia. Enrolment is the firm’s application to AUSTRAC. The program is approved inside the firm. A senior manager still owns it. In a one-person practice the compliance officer question is can a sole trader be their own compliance officer?.

• Enrolment. FreeAML does not enrol the practice and does not lodge the application.
• The program. What you still customise after a download is the AUSTRAC program starter kit. The documents stay on austrac.gov.au.
• The people. Staff who form companies or restructure entities need the firm’s escalate path. A generic webinar is not that path. Training shape is AML/CTF training.
• The file. Send a check where the program says the matter is in. A tax return that is outside stays outside.

Companies and trusts on an accounting file

Accountants meet beneficial owners on the way into an entity: a company being formed, a restructure, a trust that will own the shares. There may be no ASIC extract yet. The rules overview is AML beneficial owner rules for Tranche 2. Direct versus indirect holdings are beneficial owner of shares. Who you name when the customer is a trust is who is the beneficial owner of a trust under CDD. The company extract, once one exists, stops where ultimate beneficial owner versus the ASIC extract says it stops.

What the client pays

On FreeAML the firm suite is A$0. There is no monthly AML seat for the practice. 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. Use KYC when the customer is a person. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. The price does not decide whether the engagement is a designated service.

Frequently Asked Questions