In force since 1 July 2026

1 July 2026

The date every Australian real estate agency became a reporting entity under the AML/CTF Act. The regime is now in force.

Now in force

AUSTRAC Tranche 2 commenced 1 July 2026. Every agency that brokers a property sale is now a reporting entity and must have a compliant AML/CTF programme in place.

What you must have in place

AUSTRAC enrolment. Every agency must enrol as a reporting entity. Online enrolment; ~20 minutes. Korvos drafts the enrolment bundle in one click.
AML/CTF programme. A documented programme covering all mandatory clauses under the AML/CTF Rules 2025 — risk assessment, customer due diligence, sanctions and PEP screening, transaction monitoring, record keeping, and training. Korvos drafts the full programme in a few minutes from your agency profile.
Risk assessment. Four-factor AUSTRAC assessment across customer, service, geography, and delivery channel.
Compliance officer. Named, fit-and-proper, appointed. The principal can be the CO — Korvos makes the role trivial to hold.
Training. Every AML-relevant person certified across the 12-topic AUSTRAC curriculum; annual recertification.
Retention. 7-year record keeping on every designated service. Hash-chained, append-only AML records hosted in Sydney.

Common questions

When do real estate agencies become AUSTRAC reporting entities?

1 July 2026. From that date every Australian real estate agency providing services that fall within the AML/CTF Act 2006 (as amended for Tranche 2) is a reporting entity and must have an AML/CTF programme, enrolment, customer due diligence, and ongoing monitoring in place.

Which real estate businesses are caught by AUSTRAC Tranche 2?

Agencies and individuals providing designated services in connection with the buying, selling, or transferring of real estate — including selling or buying agents, buyer's agents, auctioneers, and (in some structures) property managers handling rental bonds and trust accounts.

What does an AUSTRAC AML/CTF programme need to cover?

An AML/CTF programme must address AUSTRAC's 12 evaluation components — the same lens an AUSTRAC examiner uses when reviewing your programme. These are: (1) ML/TF risk assessment; (2) AML/CTF risk awareness training programme; (3) employee due diligence; (4) programme adoption and senior management oversight; (5) AML/CTF compliance officer designation; (6) regular independent reviews; (7) responding to AUSTRAC feedback; (8) reporting procedures (SMR / TTR / IFTI / annual); (9) maintaining enrolment and registration; (10) collecting and verifying KYC information; (11) ongoing customer due diligence and transaction monitoring; and (12) record-keeping for 7 years from the last designated service.

What happens if a real estate agency is not compliant?

Operating without enrolment is a strict-liability offence under the AML/CTF Act, with civil penalties of up to $33 million per contravention for a body corporate (and $6.6 million for an individual), plus director liability. Now that the regime has commenced, AUSTRAC has an enforcement focus on the Tranche 2 cohort.

How long does it take to set up an AML/CTF programme for a real estate agency?

With manual drafting, agencies typically engage compliance consultants for 4–12 weeks at AUD 8,000–25,000+. With Korvos the programme generates in a few minutes from the agency profile, and the principal reviews and signs off on the nine irreducible decisions before sealing.

Billing begins at the rate you sign up at, locked at that rate for the lifetime of your continuous subscription. Every buyer-paid verification credits 1:1 against it — so once you transact, it pays for itself.

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