Cash deposit over $10,000 at an agency

People search “cash deposit real estate AUSTRAC” when an agency counter has just taken a large cash holding deposit and nobody is sure which report that is. Checked against AUSTRAC’s threshold transaction reports page on 4 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. The report itself is explained on threshold transaction reports. Cash in a trust account, and who files, is on trust-account cash and who files. The sector map is /tranche-2.

The counter, not the transfer

The scene is physical notes at an agency, for a holding deposit or similar receipt the program treats as part of a designated service. The figure people use is $10,000 or more in physical currency. A transfer from the buyer’s bank is a different payment. It is not this report.

An international transfer has its own report and its own page. Customer due diligence still happens on the customer. The cash report does not replace it, and identity does not replace the report. If someone suggests breaking the cash into smaller amounts so each piece sits under the line, treat that as a reason to stop and speak to the compliance officer; this page will not describe how to structure payments or how to complete the form.

• Write how the money arrived. Notes on the counter, or a transfer. The word deposit is not enough.
• Keep the customer check moving. The report does not identify them. The program’s CDD still applies.
• Do not coach a smaller figure. Suggesting how to stay under the threshold is the opposite of the job.
• Know which firm received it. The agency’s counter and a conveyancer’s trust account are different receivers.

Sort the money before you name a form

The receptionist can sort the payment the same day. The compliance officer decides the report. The sort stops the office calling every receipt a threshold matter, and stops it calling none of them one.

Where the agency-cash page stops

This page is the agency counter. It is not the general threshold-report guide and it is not the trust-account question of who files. Those are threshold transaction reports and trust-account cash and who files. FreeAML does not lodge the report and does not count the notes.

The firm suite is A$0. The identity check is client-pays.

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 firm suite does not include lodging a threshold transaction report, and the report is not a KYC check. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. FreeAML does not lodge a threshold transaction report or decide that a cash deposit is in scope.

Frequently Asked Questions