Understanding the New AML/CTF Process

From 1 July 2026, Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws expanded to cover certain professional services provided by accountants.

These reforms are designed to strengthen Australia’s financial system and help prevent professional services from being misused for money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crime.

For our Rowe Partners clients, this may mean completing identity verification and providing additional information before we can assist you with certain services.

These checks are a legal requirement. They do not mean we have concerns about you, your business or your financial affairs.

We have programs in place to make this new legal obligation as straightforward and secure as possible for you, our clients.

To help explain further, we’ve put together a guide to answer your questions below:

What does AML/CTF mean?

AML/CTF stands for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.

The AML/CTF laws are administered by AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence agency and AML/CTF regulator. From 1 July 2026, the regime applies to specified services commonly provided by accountants and other professional service providers.

The purpose of the legislation is to help businesses identify and manage the risk that their services could be used to conceal criminal funds or finance illegal activities.

Do AML checks apply to every accounting service?

No. The AML/CTF requirements are based on the type of service being provided.

This new legislation identifies certain higher-risk activities as ‘designated services’, and these AML/CTF checks are only required if Rowe Partners is providing these designated services to you.

Services that may require AML checks include:

Creating, Purchasing, Selling or Restructuring a company, trust, partnership, SMSF or another legal arrangement.
Managing client funds or assets.
Acting, or arranging for another person to act, in certain company or trust positions
Providing a registered office address or principal place of business.

Other routine accounting services (tax returns, BAS lodgements etc.) do not require AML checks. Whether the requirements apply depends on the specific work Rowe Partners is being asked to perform.

What is customer due diligence?

Customer due diligence, sometimes called CDD, is the process of confirming who a client is and understanding the nature of the service being provided.

Before Rowe Partners can provide you any services, we are obliged to:

Confirm your identity
We may ask for personal details and a current identification document, such as a driver’s licence or passport.
Understand who we are acting for
Where a company, trust, SMSF, partnership or other entity is involved, we may need information about the people who own, control or act for that entity.
Understand the service you require
We may ask questions about the purpose and expected nature of the proposed work.
Review relevant entity documents
Depending on the structure, this may include a trust deed, company records, governing documents or information about directors, trustees, shareholders or beneficiaries.
Complete additional checks where required
In some circumstances, we may need further information about the source of funds or source of wealth connected with the work.

Rowe Partners’ process of obtaining this information will be to send an email and provide a secure link where you can safely upload or pass along any sensitive information.

What information might Rowe Partners request?

The information required will depend on the client, business structure, service and level of risk involved.

We may request:

full legal name
date of birth
residential address
current contact details
current photo identification
company, trust, SMSF or partnership documents
details of directors, trustees, partners or other relevant individuals
information about ownership and control
an explanation of the nature and purpose of the engagement
information about the source of funds or source of wealth, where relevant.

For a company, trust or SMSF, we may also need to verify the identities of individuals connected with the entity and obtain relevant governing documents.

If you’re a current client of ours, Rowe Partners may already hold some of the necessary records, such as company records, ASIC information or trust deeds. We will review the information available to us and let you know what is missing, outdated or still needs to be verified.

How do I provide you with my ID?

We will send you an email with a secure link, where you will be prompted to follow the instructions to take a photo of your ID and then a selfie.

Please check that the request clearly relates to Rowe Partners before providing information. If you are unsure, please call our office on 1800 047 693 to confirm.

For security reasons, please do not send through pictures of your ID, or put any of your personal details into the body of an email to us.

Can Rowe Partners begin work before the checks are complete?

For applicable services, Rowe Partners will need to complete the required customer due diligence, and/or the AML/CTF checks before beginning or progressing the work.

This means a delay in providing requested identification or documents could delay the service.

We will explain what is needed and guide you through each stage.

What about existing Rowe Partners clients?

Existing clients are not necessarily required to complete these AML/CTF checks immediately.

AUSTRAC’s current guidelines provide us a transitional period, and gives us time to run these checks when necessary. The necessities depend on the existing relationship, the designated services involved and whether particular circumstances arise.

Over a space of time, Rowe Partners will ask existing clients to confirm and update their information, and we will perform these checks as a part of our obligations.

How will my personal information be handled?

Rowe Partners understands that identity and financial information is sensitive.

Information collected through the AML/CTF process will be handled carefully and confidentially. It will be used to meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including identity verification, due diligence, risk assessment and applicable reporting requirements.

Our client guidance states that AML/CTF information is handled securely and confidentially and is collected to satisfy legal obligations.

If you have questions about why particular information is being requested, how to provide it or how it will be handled, please speak with our team before submitting it.

Please refer to our Privacy Policy listed on our website for more information.

Do these checks mean Rowe Partners suspects something is wrong?

No.

Being asked to verify your identity or provide supporting information does not mean you or your business are suspected of wrongdoing. The checks form part of the legal compliance process that applies when specified services are provided.

Does is cost money to run a AML check?

Yes. There is a fee applicable for running a AML/CTF check.

This fee will vary depending on the structure of entitles involved, and how many people are connected to these entities.

For more information about the fees involved, please call us on 1800 04 7693.

Have more questions about the AML process?

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