New identity verification requirements – Anti Money Laundering Rules from 1 July 2026
As of 1 July 2026, new Australian anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws apply to many of the services provided by all accounting firms.
Similar to banks, we may now need to verify your identity and, in some cases, ask additional questions about ownership structures, the source of funds, or the purpose of certain transactions.
Even if you’ve been a client of ours for many years, we may still need to ask you for information you haven’t needed to provide before.
This isn’t because we don’t know you or trust you. The law now requires accounting firms to complete the same verification process for all clients, including those we’ve worked with for many years, and to keep records demonstrating that we’ve complied with these requirements.
To make the process as simple as possible, we’ll only ask for information where it’s required. If we do need anything from you, we’ll explain what we need and why.
For some of our business clients who use The Hendrie Group as their company’s registered office, these changes will involve additional compliance requirements. If this applies to you, we’ll contact you separately over the coming weeks with more information, including any associated fees.
These changes are part of a nationwide effort to help prevent criminals from using companies, trusts and other business structures to hide, move or legitimise money obtained through illegal activities.
We’re also required to keep records demonstrating our compliance with the AML laws. AUSTRAC, Australia’s anti-money laundering regulator, can audit our compliance with these requirements.
We appreciate your understanding as we implement these new legal requirements. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
The Hendrie Group Team
