Lawyer warns conveyancing colleagues to suck it up over AML
And for those who are in cahoots, knowingly turning a blind eye, the answer is simple: they should be jailed.
LAWYER George Sourris has hit out at conveyancers whining about added Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance obligations — telling them they need to “suck it up”.
Brisbane-based George didn’t mince words when he said the focus should be on responsibility and not resistance.
His comments come after the latest updates on the reforms by AUSTRAC highlighted that estate agents would be able to rely on the due diligence work carried out by conveyancers.
Speaking to Australian Conveyancer about the incoming reforms, the high-profile property lawyer acknowledged ongoing pushback against the measures.
He said: “You’ll have a line of conveyancers down the road saying, we do too much, we don’t get paid enough, there’s too much compliance. Well, you know what? Suck it up. It’s the job.
“If your lawyer isn’t asking the right questions for an anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism, fraud-like [case], then who is?”
“Your tattoo parlours, all those sorts of things where they’re laundering money or trying to launder money… that’s a small fish in comparison to a property transaction. Like, an Australian property is worth $1,000,000 plus, right?”
Like other conveyancers, Sourris is not surprised that the onus on Know Your Customer due diligence will fall on conveyancers.
“A significant portion of the agents don’t value the legal intricacies. They value selling the property and they have a team around them to manage that stuff.”
But compliance is part of the professional duty of conveyancers and property lawyers, he says, adding: “This has to be done. If there’s bad guys out there doing bad stuff and we now have an obligation… that’s our duty.”
The additional bureaucracy, he says, is a necessary trade-off: “We’re going to have more red tape, but that red tape’s there to stop the bad guys doing the wrong thing.”
All tranche 2 professions – like conveyancers and lawyers – are being deputised to be the eyes and the ears of the Federal Government as part of the incoming reforms that come into force from July 2026.
They face the possibility of heavy fines for failing to register.
Penalties of $19,000 a day can be issued against those who do not sign-up to be part of the new regime. And failure to carry out an annual compliance report also carries a $19,000 fine.
For George, those lawyers or conveyancers who knowingly turn a blind eye, the answer is simple.
“Put them in jail. I mean to me it’s very simple. If you are in cahoots with the money launderers, you will have to pay the piper. Break the law, suffer the consequences.”
