AML/CTF stands for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing.

These laws exist to make it harder for criminal money to move through the economy. Banking, law and accounting have operated under them for years. From 1 July 2026, real estate joined the list.

Property is an attractive way to move and disguise large sums, which is why the sector was brought in.

Because we are legally required to confirm who our clients are before we provide certain services.

Depending on your circumstances, we may need your full name, date of birth and residential address, together with identification documents to support them.

This is not a judgement about you. Every client is asked, every agency is asking, and the requirement applies whether the property is worth two hundred thousand dollars or two million.

The requirements attach to the buying, selling and transfer of property. If you are listing a home with us, or making an offer on one, you will be asked to verify your identity.

Where a property is bought, sold or held through a company, trust, partnership, self-managed super fund or similar structure, we are required to understand who owns and controls that structure.

That can mean collecting details of directors, trustees, beneficial owners, or anyone who exercises effective control.

It is the same requirement your bank or accountant would apply to the same entity.

No. The obligation sits on us, not on you, but we cannot provide the service without it.

If we are unable to complete verification, we may not be able to act for you.

It is the law. The obligation comes from the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act and applies to every real estate agency in Australia.

If another agency has not asked you for identification, that does not mean the requirement does not apply to them.

We use it to meet our verification and record-keeping obligations under the Act, and for nothing else.

We do not sell it, and we do not use it for marketing. Our full Privacy Policy sets out how we handle personal information generally.

Verification records are held in [PLATFORM NAME], a specialist compliance platform used for this purpose, and are accessible only to the members of our team who need them.

[PLATFORM NAME] is certified to [CERTIFICATION]. Further detail is available in their privacy policy.

The Act requires us to retain verification records for seven years. We do not keep them longer than we are required to.

We would not be able to onboard you as a client or continue acting for you.

We would rather have the conversation early than discover the problem at exchange, so if something about the request concerns you, please raise it with us at the outset.

Yes. The requirement applies to existing and returning clients, not only to new ones.

In most cases we will already hold what we need and will simply ask you to confirm it is current.

It should not. Verification runs alongside everything else rather than in sequence with it.

The one thing that does cause delay is leaving it until exchange. If we ask early, please come back to us early.

For most people, a current Australian driver licence or passport is enough.

If you are buying or selling through a company, trust or fund, we will send you a short list of the additional documents required for that structure.

If you do not hold standard identification documents, contact us and we will work through the alternatives with you.

Our office, at any point. If you would prefer to speak to the person responsible for compliance, ask for [AML/CTF COMPLIANCE OFFICER NAME].

We would much rather answer a question than have you sit on a concern.