25/05/2026
New Rules for Certain Accounting Services – Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Laws
There are some changes to Australian law that will affect how accounting practices work with their clients from 1 July 2026.
The short version: the government is extending anti-money laundering counter-terrorism (AML/CTF or AML) rules to cover accountants - the same type of identity checks your bank already does when you open an account. This applies to every accounting practice in Australia, not just ours, and it’s regulated by AUSTRAC.
We don’t expect this to cause any major disruption for you, but there are a few things worth knowing about.
From 1 July 2026, when we help you with certain types of work - like setting up a new company or trust, transferring an entity, providing payroll services or using our address as your principal address - we’re required by law to verify your identity and understand who we’re working with before we can get started.
These are called “designated services” under the new rules, and specific identity checks (above and beyond our standard process) only apply when you ask us to carry out one of these specific types of work.
Your regular tax returns, BAS, bookkeeping, and general advice aren’t affected. It’s only specific transaction and structuring work that triggers these new requirements.
If you ask us to carry out a designated service after 1 July 2026, we’ll need to complete some identity checks before we can proceed.
You don’t need to do anything at this stage. When/if you do need a designated service, we’ll walk you through exactly what’s required at that time. We’ll provide you with a checklist of what to gather, and for most clients, the whole process only takes a few days.
