AML/CTF Changes 2026: Your Questions Answered

Under the new AML/CTF laws, we are legally required to verify the identity of every client before providing certain services. Government-issued photo ID - your passport and driver's licence - is the most straightforward way to do that, because it confirms both your identity and your face.

If you've bought or sold property before, this will feel familiar - identity verification has long been part of conveyancing. The new laws extend a similar requirement to a broader range of legal work, and it's the same requirement you'd encounter at a bank or financial planner. We treat your documents with the same strict confidentiality as everything else you share with us.

New federal legislation, the AML/CTF Act, requires us to formally verify client identities before providing certain designated services. Because you are an existing client, we were not required to do this on 1 July 2026. The requirement applies now because you have engaged us for a matter that triggers it. We are not singling you out - this applies to all clients when they request this type of work.

Absolutely not. Identity verification is required for every client without exception, regardless of history or relationship. It is simply the law, and it applies uniformly across our entire client base - exactly as it does at banks, accountants, and financial planners.

The checks apply when Farrell Goode assists with buying, selling or transferring real estate; buying or selling a business; setting up, restructuring or winding up companies, trusts or partnerships; holding or managing client money or property in connection with a transaction; providing a registered office address; or acting as a nominee director, shareholder or trustee.

Court representation, criminal and traffic matters, family law advice, and preparing your will or power of attorney are not affected.

Once verified, your details stay on file. As part of our ongoing obligations we refresh verification periodically, generally every 2 years, or sooner if your circumstances change, such as new entities or changes to ownership or control.

It depends on your structure. In general:

• Individuals - current passport and driver's licence
• Companies - ASIC extract plus director and beneficial owner IDs
• Trusts - certified copy of trust deed plus trustee and beneficiary IDs
• Partnerships - partnership agreement plus partner IDs
• Deceased estates - executor or administrator ID, plus the grant of probate or letters of administration where applicable

We'll send you a personalised checklist when the time comes.

Not if verification is completed early - and we make sure it is. Identity verification is one of the first steps in your matter, completed well before contracts are exchanged or settlement is booked. The process itself usually takes only a few days. The only situation where delays arise is when documents are missing or incomplete, which is why we ask for everything up front.

No. The AML/CTF Act expressly preserves legal professional privilege. The confidential legal advice we give you, and the communications between you and your solicitor, remain protected exactly as they always have been. The new requirements relate to verifying who you are before certain transactions - not to the content of your legal advice.

Yes. Your privacy is protected at every step. Farrell Goode does retain copies of your identity documents for 7 years as required by legislation.

We do not share your information with third parties except as required by law.

InfoTrack is one of Australia's leading legal technology platforms, used daily by thousands of law firms and conveyancers across the country. They are not a new or unknown company - they have been operating in the Australian legal sector for over 20 years and are widely regarded as the industry standard for identity verification and due diligence in legal practice.

We use InfoTrack's identity verification product - InfoTrackID - because it allows identity documents to be verified securely. This protects your privacy while satisfying our legal obligations under the AML/CTF Act. InfoTrackID verifies documents against the Australian Government's Document Verification Service (DVS), which means the check is authoritative and government-backed.

When you complete the InfoTrackID verification process, your documents are checked against the Australian Government's Document Verification Service (DVS) within InfoTrack's secure system. The documents are used solely to confirm your identity - nothing else.

InfoTrack retains your identity documents and personal information within their secure platform for 90 days only, after which everything is permanently and irreversibly deleted. They do not sell, share, or use your information for any other purpose.

For verifications completed through InfoTrackID, Farrell Goode receives the verification report - confirming your identity was verified, when, and by what method - which is retained for 7 years as required by the AML/CTF Act.

Yes. InfoTrack operates enterprise-grade security infrastructure with onshore data storage - meaning your information never leaves Australia. Their platform is compliant with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, and it is independently audited.

InfoTrackID is the same platform used by thousands of Australian law firms and conveyancers to verify client identities for property transactions - it is well-established, widely trusted, and purpose-built for exactly this type of sensitive verification work. You can review InfoTrack's Security and Legislation Compliance at any time.

Yes - copies are retained by Farrell Goode, pursuant to our Privacy Policy which can be reviewed here. If you verify your documents through InfoTrack, your actual documents remain within InfoTrack's secure system and are permanently deleted after 90 days.

Yes. InfoTrackID supports both remote verification (online, at a time that suits you) and in-person verification at any of our five offices - Temora, Narrandera, Leeton, Cootamundra, or West Wyalong. If you would prefer to complete the process face-to-face, please let us know and we will arrange that with you. Either way, the same privacy protections apply.

They're related, but not identical. Verification of Identity (VOI) for conveyancing has been standard practice for some years and confirms who you are for the purposes of a property transfer. The new AML/CTF requirements are broader - depending on your structure, they may also require us to identify beneficial owners, sight trust deeds or company records, and keep verification records for 7 years. In many cases the two can be completed together in a single step, so you won't notice much difference.

Please contact us as soon as possible. We cannot begin work until verification is complete, so resolving any gaps promptly avoids delays to your matter. Alternative documents may be acceptable in some circumstances - just ask us.

This is more common than you might think, and it's worth sorting out now rather than when you need us to act on the trust. We cannot complete identity verification for a trust without sighting the trust deed - it is required to confirm the trust structure, trustee powers, and beneficial ownership.

If your deed is missing, start by checking with the solicitor or accountant who set up the trust - they may have a copy. If it was set up through a document provider, a replacement certified copy may be obtainable. In some cases a formal deed of confirmation may be needed - something we can assist with. Please contact us as early as possible so we have time to resolve it before it delays a transaction.

We are required to report certain transactions and suspicious matters to AUSTRAC. If we make such a report, we are legally prohibited from informing you - this is called the 'tipping-off' rule under the AML/CTF Act. This is standard across all legal, accounting and financial services in Australia, not unique to Farrell Goode. Legal professional privilege is preserved - genuinely privileged communications remain protected.