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Deadline: 29 July 2026 — enforcement now active

AUSTRAC enrolment for Conveyancers — 2026 AUSTRAC Guide

If your conveyancing practice provides a designated service from 1 July 2026, you must enrol with AUSTRAC. For conveyancers, this catches transaction work that falls within the AML/CTF regime, not just the fact that you hold a conveyancer licence. If you do not enrol on time, you can breach a federal legal requirement and face serious enforcement action, including civil penalties of up to $33.5 million per contravention, with criminal penalties for intentional contraventions.

Your AML/CTF obligations

  1. 1. AUSTRAC enrolment
  2. 2. Compliance officer
  3. 3. ML/TF risk assessment
  4. 4. AML/CTF program
  5. 5. Customer due diligence
  6. 6. Sanctions screening
  7. 7. Suspicious matter reporting
  8. 8. Record keeping (7 years)
  9. 9. Staff training

Enrolment is the first mandatory step for a conveyancing business that becomes a reporting entity. It tells AUSTRAC who you are, how your practice is structured, what designated services you provide, who your key personnel are, and how AUSTRAC can contact you. Enrolment is done through AUSTRAC Online at austrac.gov.au and it is free. It is not a licence, approval or accreditation from AUSTRAC. It is a legal notification that your practice is providing a designated service and is now subject to AML/CTF obligations.

Hard deadline for existing conveyancing practices

If your practice will be providing a designated service when the tranche 2 reforms start on 1 July 2026, you must enrol by 29 July 2026. If you start providing a designated service after 1 July 2026, you must enrol within 28 days of first providing that service. Keep your enrolment details up to date within 14 days of any change.

What a conveyancer should do now

  • Confirm whether the work your practice does includes a designated service under the AML/CTF Act. Not every activity in a conveyancing file will trigger regulation, but if you are providing a designated service connected with property transactions, enrolment is mandatory.
  • Identify the correct business entity to enrol — for example, your company, partnership or sole trader practice — and gather its ABN, legal name, trading names and contact details.
  • Prepare details AUSTRAC will ask for, including business structure, designated services provided, key personnel and business addresses.
  • Set up access to AUSTRAC Online early so you are not trying to enrol close to 29 July 2026.
  • After enrolment, diarise an internal process to update AUSTRAC within 14 days if your ownership, key personnel, contact details or services change.

For conveyancers, one common mistake is assuming state or territory licensing already covers this step. It does not. AUSTRAC enrolment is a separate federal requirement. Another mistake is thinking enrolment can wait until your AML/CTF program is finished. It cannot. Enrolment comes first. The AML/CTF program must be finalised by 31 December 2026, but your enrolment deadline is much earlier. A third mistake is enrolling the wrong entity, such as an individual principal instead of the incorporated practice that actually contracts with clients.

A practical approach for conveyancers is to map your matter types before enrolling. Residential sale and purchase files, off-the-plan work, related party transfers, and other property transfer matters may not all be handled the same way inside your practice, but AUSTRAC will want a clear picture of the designated services you provide. If you operate more than one office, use one central record of business names, directors or partners, and service descriptions so your AUSTRAC Online enrolment matches your engagement letters, website and internal file-opening process. That will make later compliance steps much easier, especially customer due diligence and staff training.

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Frequently asked questions

Does every conveyancing practice need to enrol with AUSTRAC on 29 July 2026?
No. The obligation applies if your practice provides a designated service under the AML/CTF Act. The key question is not whether you are a conveyancer, but whether the work you do includes a designated service from 1 July 2026. If it does, the enrolment deadline is 29 July 2026 unless you first start providing that service later, in which case you have 28 days from that first service.
What if I only do occasional conveyancing work or a small number of property files each year?
Volume does not remove the obligation. If your practice provides a designated service, even occasionally, you must enrol. AUSTRAC enrolment is based on the type of service you provide, not how often you provide it.
Do I need to pay a fee to enrol with AUSTRAC?
No. Enrolment through AUSTRAC Online is free. You still need to budget for the time and work involved in setting up your AML/CTF compliance framework, but the enrolment itself does not have a fee.
I am a sole practitioner conveyancer operating through a company. Who should be enrolled?
Usually the business entity that provides the designated service should be enrolled, not just the individual principal. If your company is the entity contracting with clients and issuing invoices, that is generally the entity whose details need to be on the enrolment. Make sure the legal entity on AUSTRAC Online matches your client agreements and business records.
What happens if my practice changes address, directors, or trading name after I enrol?
You must keep your enrolment details up to date. Changes to enrolment details must be notified to AUSTRAC within 14 days. For a conveyancing practice, this commonly includes a new office address, a new director or partner, a change in trading name, or a change in the designated services you provide.

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