Industry contribution levy: most small firms will not get the invoice

People search “AUSTRAC industry contribution levy small firm” when a small firm enrols and adds a levy line to the budget before any invoice exists. Checked against AUSTRAC’s obligations and compliance page on 4 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. What firms confuse with a regulator invoice is AML compliance cost. Enrolment itself is the AUSTRAC enrolment guide. The sector map is /tranche-2.

Three bills that are not the same

A small firm hears AUSTRAC industry contribution levy and pictures an annual software subscription. That picture is wrong even before anyone knows whether an invoice is coming. The levy, where it exists, is a regulator assessment. The firm suite is access; the check is something the client pays when the program requires verification; putting all three on one budget line is how a two-partner practice scares itself on enrolment day.

The angle people search is that most small firms will not get the invoice. This page will not turn that search into a calculation. It does not name a turnover line, a dollar figure, or a class of firm that can ignore AUSTRAC’s own material. If an invoice arrives, it will come from AUSTRAC; if it does not, the absence is also AUSTRAC’s, not a conclusion you print from a blog.

• Do not invent the invoice. No levy line goes into the budget until AUSTRAC assesses one. A rumour is not an assessment.
• Do not invent the amount. This page has no threshold and no dollar figure. Anyone who quotes one from here is adding text that is not on the page.
• Separate the check. Client-pays verification is not a levy. It is not cancelled if no levy arrives, and it is not caused by a levy.
• Read AUSTRAC for the assessment. The obligations page is the official side of compliance. This article does not reproduce the levy settings.

What a small firm can put in the budget

Where this page stops

This page is the warning not to budget a levy from a blog. It is not the definition of a reporting entity. That definition is what a reporting entity is.

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. A levy, if AUSTRAC ever issues one, is not included in the firm suite and is not a KYC or KYB fee. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. FreeAML does not tell you whether a levy invoice will arrive or calculate a levy.

Frequently Asked Questions