AML Compliance Guide
Log in Create Free Account
Deadline: 29 July 2026 — enforcement now active

AUSTRAC enrolment for Precious metals & stones dealers — 2026 AUSTRAC Guide

If you buy or sell precious metals, precious stones or precious products in transactions that make you a reporting entity, you must enrol with AUSTRAC. For this sector, that usually means deals of $10,000 or more involving physical currency, virtual assets, or a combination of both, including linked transactions that appear to be part of the same purchase or sale. If you do not enrol on time, you can face serious enforcement action, with civil penalties of up to $33.5 million per contravention and criminal penalties for intentional breaches.

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 legal step. It tells AUSTRAC that your business provides a designated service and is now a reporting entity under the AML/CTF regime. For precious metals and stones dealers, this is not triggered by every sale in the shop. It is triggered when you buy or sell covered items in the course of business and the transaction is valued at $10,000 or more using physical cash, virtual assets, or a mix of the two. If a customer pays only by bank transfer, debit card or credit card, that deal does not itself make that sale a designated service.

Hard deadline

If your business is already operating when the new regime starts, you must enrol with AUSTRAC 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. Enrolment is completed through AUSTRAC Online at austrac.gov.au and it is free.

What a dealer should do now

  • Check your sales and purchasing model and identify whether you ever accept $10,000 or more in physical cash, virtual assets, or both, for precious metals, stones or precious products.
  • Look for linked transactions, such as a customer splitting one purchase across several payments or visits that appear connected.
  • Confirm which legal entity will enrol — for example, your company, partnership, trust-operated business or sole trader business.
  • Gather core business details before using AUSTRAC Online, including ABN, entity name, trading names, business addresses and contact details.
  • Complete enrolment as soon as possible rather than waiting until late July 2026, so there is time to fix any account or data issues.

A common mistake in this sector is assuming enrolment only matters if you mainly trade in bullion or run a large jewellery operation. The test is not business size. The test is whether you provide a designated service. Another common mistake is focusing only on single cash sales over $10,000 and ignoring linked transactions. If one customer breaks up a purchase of jewellery, gold items or loose stones into smaller cash or virtual asset payments that appear linked, you should assess the combined value, not each payment in isolation. Enrolment is also not a licence or approval from AUSTRAC. It is a mandatory notification that your business is in the regime.

For precious metals and stones dealers, the practical issue is usually at the counter or during private sales. Set a rule that staff must escalate any proposed cash or virtual asset deal approaching $10,000 before the transaction is completed. Keep a simple register of high-value cash and crypto enquiries, completed sales, buy-backs and lay-by style arrangements so you can spot linked transactions early. If you operate across a showroom, online channel and trade events, make sure all channels feed into the same decision about whether the business must enrol. Once you determine that you provide a designated service, treat enrolment as urgent and do not wait until your AML/CTF program is finished.

A lightweight AML platform, built exclusively for Tranche 2

Get AUSTRAC's mandates done as fast and effortless as possible.

  • Built around AUSTRAC's actual requirements
  • Single maintained compliance file
  • No compliance expertise required
  • 25 minute initial compliance setup
  • Obligations calendar & reminders
  • Instant data export
Setup: ~25 minutes Ongoing: minutes per client Price: $8 per KYC
See the product →

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to enrol if I only sell jewellery and watches, not loose gold or loose stones?
Possibly, yes. The rules apply to buying or selling precious metals, precious stones or precious products, not just loose items. If the transaction meets the designated service test, including the $10,000 threshold and payment by physical currency, virtual assets or both, you need to enrol.
What if customers pay by EFT, card or bank transfer only?
If the purchase is made using only a debit card, credit card or bank transfer, that transaction is not a designated service for this part of the regime. On that fact alone, it would not trigger enrolment as a precious metals and stones dealer. You still need to review your wider business carefully in case you provide another designated service.
Do I have to enrol before I do my first $10,000 cash or crypto transaction?
If you are already operating when the regime starts and your business provides designated services, you must enrol by 29 July 2026. If your business starts providing designated services after 1 July 2026, you must enrol within 28 days of first providing that service. Do not wait until year end or until your AML/CTF program is complete.
Is there a fee to enrol with AUSTRAC?
No. Enrolment through AUSTRAC Online is free. The real cost for most small dealers is the time needed to identify whether their transaction types bring them into the regime and to prepare the business details needed for the form.
I sometimes buy scrap gold or second-hand jewellery from the public for cash. Does that count?
It can. The designated service covers buying or selling covered items in the course of carrying on a business where the transfer involves physical currency, virtual assets, or both, at a total value of at least $10,000, including linked transactions. That means buy-backs and purchases from the public can be relevant, not just retail sales to customers.

Related guides