Couldn’t care less conveyancers face scrutiny on day-one of incoming AML reforms
We’re looking at people who are making no attempt to comply with the legislation, or people who are known to us already, AUSTRAC says.
REMARKS from a senior AUSTRAC executive highlight the no-nonsense approach the financial crimes agency is planning to take from July 1, 2026.
And that means, as Australian Conveyancer has previously reported, that those failing to adopt the new compliance measures could face fines of up to $19,000 a day.
“On day one, we’re looking at people who are making no attempt to comply with the legislation, or people who are known to us already from our intelligence function,” AUSTRAC national manager Daniel Mossop said recently.
“If you are not trying to do the right thing, or you’re already known to us, then AUSTRAC reserves the right to take action.”
He indicated that the organisation was not trying to penalise those who are the unwitting victims of ‘the world’s greatest money launderer’.
But Mossop repeated the AUSTRAC mantra that property professionals needed to show they were taking all possible due diligence steps.
Whether it’s an individual, corporation, or a trust, conveyancers must ‘have a reasonable sense of who they’re dealing with.
“We don’t mandate the result, but we do mandate what needs to be done,” he added.
“That all boils down to taking precautions and due diligence – do conveyancers have a reasonable sense of who they are dealing with?
“Have they taken the steps that their own program sets out to manage the risk, and if that’s done, and have they done any reporting that they need to do based on the transaction in front of them?
“If that has happened, then that’s fine.”
Mossop also clarified that real estate agents could work in tandem with conveyancers and property lawyers to do all ID checks.
“However, that has to be done under an arrangement, and the information has to be shared so that at the end of the day, everyone in that transaction has confidence that they know who they’re dealing with,” he added.
“All that must happen before settlement, which is when the risk of money laundering crystallises.”
His comments come as a survey reveals up to 78 per cent of property professionals say they’re not ready for the changes and figures from the Attorney-General’s department suggest businesses with a turnover under $200,000 a year will face upfront costs of $4,040 and annual fees of $6,020.
Real Estate Institute of Australia president Leanne Pilkington highlighted some property practitioners are more prepared – while other smaller players will face greater pressures.
“The level of readiness varies greatly. There’s a lot of the bigger brands and franchisors doing a lot of work behind the scenes. The ones I’m concerned about are the independents who don’t have somebody to lean on,” she said.
Mossop said AUSTRAC is working on starter kits to help smaller businesses comply.
“This is a genuine world first, to be able to say to conveyancers and other smaller businesses – if you are a typical business, here’s what you need to do and here are the risks typical to your industry.”
“The practical challenge of sitting down and writing a program can be really hard on smaller businesses, especially when you don’t understand what you should be lookin for.”
“We’re trying to fast forward that and give them a jump start.”
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