New identity verification requirements

The Australian Government has extended its anti-money laundering laws to include legal services for the first time. These changes – sometimes called the “Tranche 2” reforms – bring law firms, accountants and real estate agents in line with banks, who all now have similar obligations (known as AML/CTF obligations).

The intent is straightforward: to make it harder for criminals to use legal and financial services to disguise or move the proceeds of crime. By verifying who we are working with and complying with the new requirements, we are doing our part to protect the integrity of the matters we handle and to help protect our society from the impacts of money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.

The new requirements apply when we provide certain types of legal services – known as “designated services” under the legislation. At Coulter Legal, this primarily covers:

If you are unsure whether your matter is affected, your lawyer will let you know at the outset of your engagement.

For most clients, verification is straightforward. We will ask for:

• Photo ID – current driver’s licence or passport
• Proof of address – recent utility bill or bank statement
• Biometric check – a quick video recording to ensure the identity documents produced are yours
• Answers to a few simple questions about you and the services we are providing to you – the questions will depend upon the services we are providing to you, but usually include information in relation to your employment or your business and information in relation to how any purchase of property or business is being funded, including whether any funds are being received from overseas.

We will send you a secure link through our verification platform to allow you to upload documents digitally – it only takes a few minutes, and you will not need to provide the same documents again unless your details change.

For matters involving companies or trusts and some property transactions, we may ask for additional information and documents about the ownership or control of the entity and persons who have authority to make decisions for the entity.

For some matters, including where transactions are being funded from overseas, we may be required to obtain additional documentary evidence from you before proceeding with the transaction, however we will notify you separately if this is required.

We will ask you to complete verification before we commence work on any designated service. This is a legal requirement – we are not able to provide designated services until verification is complete.

If you are a new client, this will be part of your initial onboarding. If you are an existing client returning for a new matter that falls within the designated services, we will ask you to complete verification at that time.

We will always let you know what is needed and our team is happy to walk you through the process.

Your identity information is collected solely for the purpose of meeting our AML/CTF obligations. The information is:

• Collected through a secure, encrypted platform
• Only the information we reasonably require to comply with our AML/CTF obligations – once your identity documents have been verified, our secure platform will permanently delete copies of your identity documents and biometric information and will only retain sufficient information to confirm the verification was conducted once the identify documents are verified by a third party (except in circumstances where the documents are found to be fraudulent)
• Held in accordance with our Privacy Policy
• Not shared or sold to third parties (except for the purposes of third party providers used to verify the authenticity of the documentation and information provided by you)
• Retained only for as long as required by law

If you have questions about how your data is handled, please contact our team or refer to our Privacy Policy.

The new obligations apply regardless of how long we have worked together. If you return to us for a new matter that falls within the designated services after 1 July 2026, we will need to complete the verification process at that time – even if we have acted for you many times before.

We understand this may feel like an unnecessary step for longstanding clients, and we appreciate your understanding. Once your details are verified, you will not need to repeat the process unless something changes (except if you are involved in a property transaction that is captured by separate verification of identity requirements).

The AML/CTF obligations are separate and distinct to the verification of identify requirements imposed by ARNECC when participating in a property transaction.

Coulter Legal are required to ensure all clients receiving a designated service complete our identification and verification process, however the AML/CTF identification and verification processes only need to be completed once.  Once you have completed the AML/CTF identity verification through our secure online verification system, you will not need to repeat the process in the future unless something changes.

Not at all. These checks apply to every client, for every designated service – without exception. The requirement exists at a national level to protect the financial system and the broader community, not to single anyone out.

We understand that some clients may have privacy concerns, and we are happy to discuss how your information will be handled. In some cases, we may be able to arrange alternate ways to verify your identity that you are more comfortable with. However, we are legally unable to provide designated services unless verification is completed. This is not a matter of firm policy – it is a requirement under Australian law.

If you have concerns, please speak with your lawyer before the matter commences and we will do our best to answer your questions.

Yes. Where a company, trust, partnership or other entity is involved, the verification requirements go further. We will need to understand who ultimately owns or controls the entity – often called the “beneficial owner” – as well as verifying the identity of the individuals acting on its behalf.

For example, if you are buying a property through a company or trust structure, we will need to verify:

• The identity of the directors or trustees
• The identity of the beneficial owners (those with significant ownership or control)
• The identity of anyone who has authority to make decisions for or provide instructions on behalf of the entity
• Basic details about the structure of the entity

We will guide you through exactly what is needed once we understand the nature of the matter.

If you have any questions about the verification process, what you need to provide, or how your information will be handled, please contact the lawyer handling your mater or our AML Compliance Administrator, Shakira Hanns directly – we are happy to help.