From 1 July 2026, Australian law firms providing designated services are required to comply with Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws. Similar obligations have applied to other industries since 2006, including banks and other financial institutions.

The AML/CTF laws are designed to help deter, detect and disrupt money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crime, ensuring that Australia’s financial sector remains robust and internationally competitive.

As part of these requirements, we will undertake due diligence to better understand who our clients are, and assess associated risks. In doing so, we may ask you to provide identification and other documents, as well as other relevant information before we can provide certain legal services. In some cases, we may need to update this information during our ongoing relationship with you.

The documents and information we may ask for, including from whom, will depend on the circumstances. For example, if our client consists of a complex holding structure, our due diligence will require us to examine that structure (including any parent companies and trusts within that structure), and request documents and information which help us understand that structure, and who sits within it.

We acknowledge that this process can be time consuming, and in some cases onerous. We will of course work with you to assist you through the process, and to ensure that the delivery of services is not delayed or impacted by this process.

All information we collect throughout this process is handled in accordance with our privacy policy.

If you would like more detailed information about AML/CTF laws, please visit the AUSTRAC website.