Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF)

What's changed

From 1 July 2026, Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws have been extended to cover real estate professionals for the first time — a reform known as "Tranche 2." This brings real estate agents, buyers agents, conveyancers, lawyers, and accountants into the same regulatory framework that banks and financial institutions have operated under since 2006.

The purpose of these reforms is to reduce the risk of property being used to launder illicit funds — something the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and international bodies have long identified as a risk area for the property sector.

What this means for Talon Property clients

Where Talon Property provides services that fall within AUSTRAC's regulated "designated services," we may be required to:

  • Verify your identity — using government-issued identification and, where relevant, proof of address

  • Ask about the source of funds being used for your property purchase

  • Understand the ownership structure of any trust, company, or entity involved in the purchase, including beneficial owners

  • Keep records of the above for a period required by law (currently seven years)

  • Report certain matters to AUSTRAC, including suspicious activity, where required by legislation

We understand this adds a few extra steps to the process compared to what clients may have experienced in the past. We'll guide you through exactly what's needed at the relevant stage of your engagement, and in most cases this simply means providing standard ID documents and answering some straightforward questions about how your purchase is being funded.

Our commitment

Talon Property is committed to meeting our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth), as amended, and to handling any information collected for this purpose securely and only for its intended regulatory use. See our Privacy Policy for more on how we handle your information.

Questions

If you have any questions about why we're asking for certain information, or how it will be used, please contact us directly at adam@talonproperty.com.au — we're happy to explain.

For more information on the reforms generally, visit AUSTRAC's website.

[INTERNAL NOTE — remove before publishing: Please confirm with your accountant, lawyer, or compliance adviser whether Talon Property's specific services (buyers advocacy) fall within AUSTRAC's "designated services" list before this page goes live, and whether Talon Property has enrolled with AUSTRAC. If you have NOT yet enrolled or confirmed your status, consider softening the "Our commitment" section to say you are "assessing our obligations" rather than stating firm compliance, until that's confirmed. Enrolment deadline for entities providing designated services from 1 July 2026 is 29 July 2026.]