INTHEBLACK June 2026 - Magazine - Page 40
P O D C AS T
New AML/CTF
duties for
accountants
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“What we call the ‘tranche two reforms’ will bring professional
services providers into the regime … and it will regulate those
who provide what are known as ‘designated services’.”
ADRIAN VERDNIK, HALL & WILLCOX
Australia’s accountants are facing a significant
regulatory shift. From 1 July 2026, thousands
of accountants will be subject to the country’s
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism
Financing Act 2006 for the first time.
In a recent episode of the With Interest
podcast, Adrian Verdnik, partner and section
leader in banking and financial services at
Hall & Wilcox, speaks with CPA Australia policy
advisor Neville Birthisel to unpack what the
changes mean for accountants.
NEW OBLIGATIONS
When most professionals think of AML/CTF
obligations, they envision the familiar A$10,000
cash transaction reporting threshold. But
Verdnik is quick to clarify that the obligations
go much further. “There is a common
misconception that AML/CTF will only apply
to such threshold transactions,” he says, “but it
is much more than that.
“What we call the ‘tranche two reforms’
will bring professional services providers into
the regime … and it will regulate those who
provide what are known as ‘designated
services’,” Verdnik says. These include trust
establishment, powers of attorney, registered
office services, restructuring and complex
financing transactions. Many of the services
that accountants deliver will now carry
compliance obligations, “so, they will have
to enrol as reporting entities with AUSTRAC”.
40 INTHEBLACK June 2026
AUSTRAC estimates around 80,000 entities
will be captured in the new regime, many of
which will be encountering these requirements
for the first time.
ONBOARDING CHANGES
One of the most operationally significant
changes is to how accountants onboard clients,
as existing Tax Practitioners Board (TPB)
processes are unlikely to be sufficient, Verdnik
says. “There are obligations under AML/CTF
law that really drill down into who the beneficial
owners are of non-individual clients, and that
regime is going to require quite a different
process and verification of information than
what would ordinarily be the case under TPB.”
Third-party providers are available for those
who need support.
ACT NOW
Enrolment with AUSTRAC opened at the end
of March 2026. For practices yet to act, time
is short. Verdnik suggests using AUSTRAC’s
self-assessment tools and CPA Australia resources
to confirm whether services are ‘designated’,
and to have ownership structures, financials, and
trust or partnership details ready to go.
Ultimately, the reforms position accountants
as another line of defence against financial
crime, and make it harder for criminals to
exploit legitimate accounting services to hide
or move dirty money.
LISTEN
listen to the full
podcast episode
