Anti-money laundering (AML) changes
From 1 July 2026, Australia’s anti‑money laundering and counter‑terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws will extend to the legal profession.
This means that law firms, including Allens, are now classified as reporting entities with obligations to specifically assess money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing risks, as a standard part of how we engage with clients.
At Allens, we are committed to making this process simple, efficient and tailored to you.
What's changing?
In some situations, we’ll now need to meet a prescribed standard to:
- confirm your organisation's identity (and the identity of the key instructing contact)
- understand the purpose of the legal services we provide to you
- identify ownership and control structures
- assess the level of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing risk.
What this means for you
In most cases, we expect this will be straightforward and manageable.
Some additional information upfront
We may ask for:
- entity information
- details about ownership or control
- additional details of the transaction or matter.
- your assistance to identify certain individuals in your organisation (which will be dealt with in accordance with our privacy obligations)
Timing considerations
We may need to complete checks and assessments before work can begin. Providing information promptly will help avoid delays.
If you're an existing client
In many cases, we may already hold the information we need.
- If your details are up to date, we may not require any further information.
- If additional information is required, we’ll promptly let you know.
How we’re making this as easy as possible
Our approach is to minimise disruption:
- Reliance on existing information wherever possible.
- Streamlined, secure digital process and tools to collect and verify information.
- Clear guidance at each step.
Our goal is to make this quick, secure and low-friction.
If you are a new client
Where we need to collect information from you to supplement publicly available information, we will reach out to you directly. Any requests for information will be sent via our secure digital verification platform, and will include guidance on what is required.
Need help?
If you have any questions, please contact your usual partner contact or reach out to our Business Acceptance team BusinessAcceptance@allens.com.au.
We’re here to guide you through the process and help everything run smoothly with these new requirements.
Our commitment
We understand this is a change for our clients. Our focus is to:
- minimise disruption
- avoid duplication wherever possible
- support you through the process.
FAQs
These changes are the result of new Australian laws. As a law firm, we are required to assess risks to help prevent financial crime.
Your information will be used to enable us to assess risks as required by law. It will be:
- managed securely and confidentially
- used only for business acceptance purposes
- handled in accordance with our privacy and other legal obligations.
In most cases – no. Any delays beyond our existing business acceptance timeframes will likely be minimal.
However, in some cases, there may be some delay while we finalise our business acceptance checks and assessments before starting work, particularly if information is not readily available.
We aim to keep any impact to a minimum and will work with you to commence matters as quickly as possible. Providing requested information promptly will help reduce the risk of delay.
Once we have collected and verified your client details, we will rely on that information wherever possible, unless your circumstances change. For new matters, we may need additional information or we may confirm that existing information is still current, rather than asking you to resubmit documentation.
We may not be able to act for you until we receive the information necessary to complete our checks and assessments.
Yes. Many clients choose to:
- provide information through a central legal or compliance team
- nominate a key contact for AML-related requests.
We will work with your preferred approach.
No, your relationship with us remains the same.
These changes sit alongside our existing processes and are designed to be as streamlined as possible.
To help us provide a smooth experience:
- locate key identification documents and check they are current
- be ready to provide ownership or control details (if applicable)
- notify us of any material change to your organisation.
Under Australia's AML/CTF laws, we are required to keep client records for a minimum of seven years. This is a legal obligation that applies to all law firms and other regulated businesses.
Your information is stored securely, used only for the purposes of our client acceptance and compliance processes, and handled in accordance with Allens' privacy obligations.