Upcoming changes with our engagement  

The way in which we engage clients of the firm will soon be changing slightly due to the new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing legislation which is soon to apply to Australian law firms. AUSTRAC will require us to take certain steps related to verification of identity and other related matters.

You may also be aware that these new requirements will also apply to other professional services, such as accountancy and real estate firms.

We want to ensure that you know what the Federal Government will expect when you engage with us as a result of these changes that will take place from July 2026.

The changes mean that we will be legally required to verify your identity and may need to ask you certain questions regarding your personal circumstances in order to undertake a risk assessment.

We are required to do this for all clients where we are providing certain services which primarily relate to the acquisition or sale of property or establishing or transacting in corporate structures.

Who does this affect?

All current and future clients of the firm to whom we are providing certain services will be affected.

This includes matters regarding real estate, bodies corporate and other transactions involving both tangible and intangible property.

We will advise you of whether your matter is affected by this new requirement.

What will I need to do?

In preparation for the starting of the new regime from 1 July 2026, we will start pro-actively engaging with you to verify your identity.

We have elected to undertake this process through InfoTrack which is an industry leader platform in this area.

As part of the verification of identity process, you will be asked certain questions and be required to provide proof of your identity through uploading copies of identity documents including driver licences and passport.

Once your identity has been verified, we may also then need to ask you certain questions to assess the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing risk of the relevant matter.

These questions may relate to the source of funds being used for a transaction or your source wealth of wealth.

Conclusion

The information collected will be stored on your client record within our systems and will be held safely and securely.

We will do all that we can to ensure the least level of inconvenience to you whilst ensuring strict compliance with our legal obligations.