Anti-money laundering compliance

From 1 July 2026, all real estate agencies across Australia will be required to conduct anti-money laundering checks on buyers and sellers of property, long-term leases, and anyone else who receives ‘designated services’ in order to identify the ownership behind clients. This includes companies, individuals, trusts, etc. Agencies are required by law (AML/CTF Act 2006) to conduct identity verification on all relevant individuals.

Anti Money Laundering fact sheet

Australian Government – AUSTRAC

Secure Identity Verification

Ray White Darwin & Palmerston has partnered with AML Hub, Australia’s leading AML/CTF verification specialist, to provide a secure, encrypted and compliant identity verification process. Your information is collected and managed in accordance with Australian privacy legislation and AML/CTF requirements.

Who is AMLHUB?
AMLHUB was founded in 2012 by compliance experts who helped shape New Zealand’s AML laws –
and we’ve been at the forefront of AML in real estate ever since.
Products and professional services are localised to comply with Australian AML/CTF legislation, and support
thousands of real estate businesses to prevent illegal activity, protect their reputations and build trust.
www.amlhub.com.au

Why are you asking for my personal information?
Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Laws of Australia, all real
estate agencies are required to verify the identities of clients before we can do business with
them, from 1 July 2026. Verifying your identity means we must collect your name, date of birth,
(or) residential address.

Why do you need information about my company / trust / charity / partnership…etc?
Your company / trust / charity / partnership is our customer, and we are required to understand
its nature and purpose with us, as well as who the beneficial owners / effective controllers are.
To help, we need to collect some information about it.

Is all this information mandatory or are parts of it optional?
This information is required under the AML/CTF Act as of 1 July 2026, if we are to provide you
with our designated services to buy/sell/long-term lease property.

Is this under your agency’s internal policy, or the AML/CTF Act?
This is under the AML/CTF Act which applies to all real estate agencies across Australia, as well
as sectors like law and accounting who provide ‘designated services’.

What will you do with this information?
This information will only be used for the purposes of the AML/CTF Act, i.e. to verify your identity.

Where will it be stored?
Your information will be securely stored in the AMLHUB platform, which is ISO/IEC 27001:2022
certified and built specifically for managing real estate AML/CTF checks. Visit
amlhub.com.au/privacy-policy for more information.

How long will you hold on to my information?
The AML/CTF Act requires us to retain your information for seven years.

What happens if I don’t give you this information?
If you do not want to provide your information then unfortunately we cannot onboard you and
provide our services. All real estate agencies are required to ask for this information.

You’ve worked with me before – surely you know I’m not a money launderer?
These checks are a requirement of the AML/CTF Act for all real estate, and we have to conduct
them on all our clients before we can do business with them – even clients we’ve worked with
before. As a current client, we may simply need to update the information we have on file.

We appreciate your cooperation as we work together to meet Australia’s new AML/CTF legislative requirements.