Law firms seeking answers about the coming anti‑money laundering regime have highlighted the importance of the QLS roadshow that got underway on the Gold Coast this week.
The first of 10 statewide events provided practitioners with the opportunity to hear from QLS ahead of the 1 July deadline.
A major focus of practitioner questions was around the definition of ‘designated services’ and what services were captured by the regime.
“That’s something that they have been grappling with in the UK for the past 12 to 15 years,” QLS CEO Matt Dunn advised in response to a question about whether all matters need to be handled in the same way.
“The strict answer is that the designated services are the ones that trigger the obligation, and the obligations flow from those designated services.
“So if you just do a couple of conveyances a year, the obligations are just to do the client due diligence and all the extra work with respect to those specific transactions because they are the ones identified by AUSTRAC with the money laundering risk,” he explained.
Mr Dunn said the overseas experience showed larger firms had found it easier to have a consistent approach across their services because they had more resources. The hope is that the nature of compliance obligations is that they can grow and evolve for Australian legal practices.
“But certainly these are obligations that relate to designated services and these are the matters that you have to go and do the individual client due diligence with, not everything else,” he explained.
Wendy Devine are travelling Queensland to assist practitioners in understanding their upcoming regulatory obligations.
Addressing questions of client due diligence was a major focus of the two‑hour session, with Mr Dunn noting the legislation isn’t a helpful starting point.
“You can’t just look at the Act and the rules as they are very broad, but AUSTRAC has done a lot of work putting meat around the bones to guide practitioners on what the regulator requires and how it will work,” he said.
“And the AUSTRAC guidance is pretty good in terms of trying to translate a lot of these obligations into things that make sense.”
A challenge practitioners highlighted throughout the session was the nuance they confronted within the regime.
“It is all very new and in some places a lot greyer than we would have wanted,” Mr Dunn acknowledged.
“That’s why getting a start on your program and process is important now.
“Determine whether you are in or out of the regime and if you are in, then enrol with AUSTRAC.”
Mr Dunn said the important takeaway was that AUSTRAC did not expect perfection on day one, but it did expect honest efforts.
“They do not expect newly regulated businesses to be perfect at identifying and controlling money laundering risks from day one, but they do expect you to maintain your focus on reducing your money laundering risks.
“Ensuring that you have your AML/CTF Program in place by 1 July 2026 is critical,” he stressed.
The QLS AML/CTF Roadshow will continue this month to early March with regional events.
The Brisbane and Townsville roadshows have been sold out but the Brisbane one will be livestreamed on 26 February.
Members attending an event can download the pre-reading for background. Detailed information, including a roadmap to compliance can be found on the QLS website.
Share this article