This page explains how new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws affect the way we work with you from 1 July 2026. We have set it out here so you can refer to it at any time.
From 1 July 2026, Australian law firms must comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws when providing certain legal services.
These laws require us to complete customer due diligence before we provide some certain legal services, not all legal services, but some. This means we may need to verify your identity and collect information about you, your entity, your transaction, and in some cases the source of funds or source of wealth relevant to the work we are doing, in addition to the standard items we would otherwise request.
These requirements apply to law firms across Australia. They are not optional and are separate from our usual client onboarding and conflict checks.
When the AML/CTF process applies
The AML/CTF process does not apply to every legal matter. It generally applies where we are asked to provide legal services involving certain transactions, including matters involving:
- buying, selling or transferring real estate
- buying, selling or transferring a business, company, trust or other legal arrangement
- creating, restructuring or changing companies, trusts or other legal arrangements
- receiving, holding, controlling or managing money or property as part of a transaction
- equity or debt financing for a company, trust or other legal arrangement
If your matter involves one of these services (or some other services we have not listed), we may need to complete our AML/CTF checks before we can provide the relevant legal service.
What information we may need from you
The information we need will depend on the type of client, the type of matter and the level of risk involved.
For individuals, we will usually need to verify your identity and collect basic information such as your full name, date of birth, residential address and contact details. You may have to answer questions about your business.
For companies, trusts, SMSFs, partnerships or other entities, we may also need information and documents such as:
- company searches or company details
- trust deeds and any deeds of variation
- constitutions, partnership agreements or other governing documents
- details of directors, shareholders, trustees, appointors, beneficiaries or other people who own or control the entity
- information about the nature and purpose of the transaction
In some matters, we may also need information about the source of funds or source of wealth. This does not mean we think anything is wrong. It means we are required to understand and, where necessary, verify how funds or assets relevant to the transaction have been obtained.
Verification through InfoTrack
We use InfoTrack to assist with our AML/CTF onboarding, identity verification and screening processes.
If we need you to complete identity verification, you may receive a secure link from InfoTrack by email or SMS. The process will usually require you to answer questions and upload identification documents, such as a driver licence, passport or other documents.
Please complete the verification process promptly. Delays in providing information or completing verification may delay our ability to progress your matter.
Timing
In some matters, we may not be able to begin, continue or complete parts of the legal work until the required AML/CTF checks have been completed.
This may affect timeframes, particularly where:
- settlement or completion is urgent
- the matter involves a company, trust or other entity structure
- beneficial ownership or control is unclear
- source of funds or source of wealth information is required
- further information is needed after our initial review
We will let you know what is required for your matter as early as we reasonably can.
Costs
There may be costs involved in completing verification of identity, searches and other AML/CTF checks.
These costs are separate from our usual professional fees and may be payable even if you decide not to proceed with the matter after the onboarding process has started.
We will tell you about any applicable costs as part of our engagement process.
Existing clients
Even if we have acted for you before, we may still need to complete AML/CTF checks.
This is because the AML/CTF laws require us to hold current and adequate information for the particular service we are providing. The information required may also depend on the type of transaction, the entities involved and the risk profile of the matter.
Advisers and accountants
If you are an accountant, financial adviser, broker or other adviser assisting a mutual client, you can help reduce delays by providing, where available:
- the client's full legal name, date of birth, residential address, email address and phone number
- details of any company, trust, SMSF or other entity involved in the matter
- current company searches or entity details
- trust deeds and any deeds of variation
- details of directors, shareholders, trustees, appointors, beneficiaries and other relevant controllers
- any information relevant to the source of funds or source of wealth for the transaction
Please note that our AML/CTF process is for CLO Lawyers' own legal obligations. We are not completing your AML/CTF compliance work for you and this page is not advice about your own AML/CTF obligations.
Working with you
We appreciate that these requirements add extra administration to legal matters. We will work with you to make the process as straightforward as possible.
The best way to avoid delays is to provide requested information promptly and complete any InfoTrack verification request as soon as you receive it.
If you have any questions about what we have asked you to provide, please contact the person handling your matter, or call our office on (07) 4631 9000.