AML Real Estate Checks: The ID, Source-of-Funds and Trust Questions Property Buyers Now Face
By Tim AllenBuyer’s Agent and Director, IPS Buyer’s Agents
What are the new AML checks in real estate? Since 1 July 2026, real estate agents, conveyancers and lawyers have been covered by Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws, which AUSTRAC regulates.[1] The real estate rules also cover property developers who sell without an independent agent.[2] For buyers, that means identity checks from more than one business. Once you’re the successful purchaser, expect to show photo ID with your full name, residential address and date of birth, and to be asked how you’re paying, whether you’re buying through a trust or other legal arrangement, and whether you’re a politically exposed person.[3] If a business sees a higher risk, it must ask for more, such as proof of where your money came from.[4] This guide explains who will check you, when, what they can ask for, and how to prepare.
Key takeaways
- AML in real estate means anti-money laundering checks. Since 1 July 2026, the businesses covered must have an AML/CTF program and a compliance officer, train their staff and be ready to report to AUSTRAC.[1]
- The selling agent now counts both the seller and the buyer as its customers, so it must check you too, typically once your offer is accepted and the contract is signed.[2]
- Expect photo ID showing your full name, residential address and date of birth (a digital driver’s licence is accepted), plus questions about how you’re paying, any trust, and whether you’re a politically exposed person.[3]
- Proof of your source of funds and source of wealth is asked for when the risk is higher, for example an unusually large or complex transaction or a foreign politically exposed person.[4][5]
- If a business can’t establish who you are on reasonable grounds, it must not provide the service.[6]
AML in real estate: what changed on 1 July 2026
AML stands for anti-money laundering. In Australia the full term is AML/CTF, for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. AUSTRAC says criminals exploit the real estate market and complex company structures to hide and move illicit money, and on 1 July 2026 the laws were extended to tens of thousands more businesses.[1] From that day, those businesses needed an AML/CTF program and an AML compliance officer in place, with staff trained and ready to report, and they had until 29 July 2026 to enrol with AUSTRAC.[1]
The checks themselves are called customer due diligence. Before a business starts providing a regulated service, it must establish, on reasonable grounds:[6]
- who you are, and who anyone acting for you is, with their authority to act
- anyone you’re buying for, such as the beneficiaries of a trust
- the beneficial owners, if you’re buying through a company or trust
- whether anyone involved is a politically exposed person or designated for targeted financial sanctions
- the nature and purpose of the transaction.
Who will check you when you buy
More than one business may ask for the same information, because each one has its own obligations.
- The selling agent. Brokering a sale is a regulated service, and the law names both the seller and the buyer as the customers. When an agent acting for the seller brokers the sale of a house, it has AML/CTF obligations to both parties.[2]
- Your buyer’s agent. Buyer’s agents are covered in the same way, and their service to you starts when you sign the agreement for them to find or identify a property.[2]
- Your conveyancer or solicitor. Lawyers and conveyancers who help plan or carry out a purchase are regulated as professional services, which cover steps such as reviewing the contract, holding your funds and preparing for settlement.[7] Our guide to conveyancing in QLD explains what they do.
- A developer selling direct. Selling house and land packages, apartments off the plan or blocks in new subdivisions through in-house sales staff, rather than an independent agent, is a regulated service too, and the buyer is the customer.[2] See our house and land package guide.
- Your bank. You already show ID when you open a bank account. The reforms add the newly regulated businesses above.[4]
A private sale with no agent is different. AUSTRAC says private sales of residential property aren’t captured by the real estate services,[2] but a conveyancer or solicitor acting for you on the purchase still provides a regulated service.[7] Our guide to buying a house privately in QLD covers the rest of a private sale.
The timing depends on who’s asking:
- The selling agent starts providing its service to you when it’s reasonably expected the sale will go ahead, typically when your offer has been accepted and the contract is signed.[2] It can finish its checks after that, but no later than 28 days after contracts are exchanged or 3 days before the settlement date first agreed, whichever comes first.[8] Our guide on how to make an offer on a house in QLD covers the step before.
- At an auction, the buyer may only be known when the hammer falls. The agent can delay its checks where the short time between the end of the auction and signing the contract isn’t enough to complete them.[2] See our guide to auction rules in QLD.
- Your buyer’s agent must complete its checks on you before it starts acting for you.[8]
- Your conveyancer or solicitor starts providing the service once there’s a transaction: when you and the seller agree a price, verbally or in writing, in a private treaty sale, or when you’re the successful bidder at an auction that meets reserve.[7] They can start helping you before their checks are done, but must finish them by the same deadline: 28 days after exchange or 3 days before the settlement date first agreed, whichever is earlier.[8]
Either way, the checks must be finished before settlement. On a typical Queensland contract, settlement is about 30 to 45 days after signing, as our buyer’s agent FAQ explains, so these checks fall inside your contract period. Our guides to the contract of sale and the settlement process in QLD cover the rest of that timeline.
AUSTRAC’s guidance for buyers and sellers says that once you’re the successful purchaser, you may be asked for:[3]
- photo identification, such as your driver’s licence, that shows your full name, residential address and date of birth (digital driver’s licences are accepted)
- how you’re paying for the property, for example with a loan
- whether you’re buying through a legal arrangement, such as a trust
- whether you’re a politically exposed person.
The type and amount of ID depends on the business and the transaction, and the business will tell you what it accepts. If you’re a sole trader or business owner, expect to be asked for your business name, addresses and ABN as well.[4] Sellers also need to prove they own the property.[3]
Are you a politically exposed person?
You’ll be asked, so it helps to know what it means. A politically exposed person, or PEP, is someone entrusted with significant public responsibilities and power.[3] In Australia, that includes members of federal, state and territory parliaments, the head of a local council, senior judges, the heads of state and territory government departments and the most senior defence officers. It also covers their family members and people known to have close business relations with them.[9] A business must apply enhanced checks if a customer, a beneficial owner or anyone acting for the customer is a foreign PEP,[5] and it must establish the source of funds and source of wealth of a foreign PEP, or of a domestic PEP it rates as high risk.[6]
Not every buyer is asked for these. When a business identifies a higher risk, it must ask for more information, such as proof of your source of funds and source of wealth.[4] It must apply enhanced checks when, for example, your risk is rated high, the transaction is unusually large or complex or has no apparent economic or legal purpose, a foreign PEP is involved, or someone involved is in a high-risk country that the Financial Action Task Force has called for enhanced checks on.[5]
The two terms mean different things:[10]
- Source of funds is how and where you got the money for this purchase, such as salary and wages, business income, investment income, the sale of a property or other assets, or a gift or inheritance. It means how the money was originally earned or obtained, not the account it was transferred from.
- Source of wealth is where your overall wealth and assets came from, built up over time from things like salary, a business, investments and inheritance.
Evidence AUSTRAC lists as acceptable includes a payslip summary or employer letter confirming your salary, a signed letter from your accountant, a letter from an estate’s executor confirming an inheritance, and the sale record or title deed from a property you sold.[10]
Expect more questions if you aren’t buying in your own name. AUSTRAC notes that trusts have many legitimate uses but are also used by money launderers to disguise where money came from and who controls it. For a trust, the business must identify the beneficiaries (or each class of beneficiary if they can’t be named individually), the trustees and anyone acting for the trust, and the beneficial owners, which can include the settlor, appointor, guardian or protector. It can verify this with the trust deed and any deeds of variation, or with a letter from a lawyer or accountant for the trust who plays no role in it. AUSTRAC’s trust guide includes self-managed super funds in its examples, so expect these trust checks if your SMSF is buying.[11] For a company, the business must establish who owns or controls it.[12]
We can buy in the name of a trust, a company or an SMSF, as our FAQ explains, but get your accountant’s advice on the structure before you sign anything, and have the trust deed and the details of each trustee and beneficiary ready before you make an offer.
- Check your ID. Make sure your photo ID is current and shows your full name, residential address and date of birth.[3] If your name or address differs between documents, expect to be asked to explain and to provide supporting evidence.[6]
- Know how you’re paying. Have your pre-approval in place and know exactly where your deposit is coming from. Talk to Moreton Bay Finance Broker, the mortgage brokers we work with, before you start looking.
- Keep the paper trail for your deposit. Payslip summaries, an accountant’s letter, an executor’s letter for an inheritance or the sale record of a property you sold are the kinds of evidence AUSTRAC lists.[10]
- Get your structure documents together. For a trust, that’s the deed and any deeds of variation; for a company, who owns and controls it.[11][12]
- Pay electronically. A business that receives $10,000 or more in notes or coins as part of a regulated service must report it to AUSTRAC, while electronic transfers, cheques and card payments don’t trigger that report, whatever the amount.[13]
- Brief your conveyancer early. Ask what ID they need and when, and budget for their fee alongside stamp duty and the other costs of buying a house in QLD.
The rule is strict. If a business can’t establish the required matters on reasonable grounds, it must not provide the service, and if it reasonably suspects a customer isn’t who they claim to be, it must report that to AUSTRAC.[6] Some people can’t get standard ID because of circumstances beyond their control, and businesses can use alternative identification procedures for them.[6] Your information is protected under the Privacy Act 1988.[3]
A buyer’s agent is one of the businesses these laws now cover, and its service to you starts when you sign the agreement for it to find a property.[2] IPS Buyer’s Agents acts for buyers, and Tim Allen has personally inspected and negotiated all 128 properties we have bought since 2023. Before you sign our Form 6, we ask for a letter from your broker confirming what you can borrow, as our FAQ explains. Once your offer is accepted, the selling agent and your conveyancer will run their own checks, so have the documents above ready. If you’re buying from interstate or overseas, plan how you’ll get your documents to each business: many of our clients have bought from Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand and overseas, signing digitally while their conveyancer handles the paperwork, including a client relocating from Perth who bought in Joyner. See our buyer’s agent services and fees.
The AML rules that started on 1 July 2026 mean the selling agent, your buyer’s agent and your conveyancer all need to know who you are and how you’re paying, and their checks must be finished before settlement. Have current photo ID, your pre-approval and the paper trail for your deposit ready, sort out any trust or company documents before you make an offer, and pay electronically. These questions are now part of buying property in Australia.
This article is general information only, current at November 2026. It is based on AUSTRAC’s published guidance, which sets out how AUSTRAC interprets the law. It is not legal or financial advice and does not consider your circumstances. Ask your solicitor or conveyancer what applies to your purchase.
If you’re buying in South East Queensland and want a buyer’s agent on your side from the search to settlement, book a time with Tim Allen.
- AUSTRAC — Anti-money laundering and counter terrorism laws cover thousands more businesses (published 1 July 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Real estate designated services (last updated 31 August 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Information you need to provide for a real estate transaction (last updated 11 September 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Why you might be asked for ID (last updated 14 July 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Enhanced customer due diligence (last updated 29 October 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Overview of initial customer due diligence (last updated 27 March 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Professional designated services (last updated 25 September 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Delayed initial customer due diligence (last updated 27 October 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Politically exposed persons (last updated 30 October 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Proof of source of funds and source of wealth (last updated 25 June 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Initial customer due diligence for a trust (last updated 4 November 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Initial customer due diligence for a body corporate, partnership or unincorporated association (last updated 4 November 2026)
- AUSTRAC — Threshold transaction reports (last updated 14 October 2026)
What does AML mean in real estate?
AML stands for anti-money laundering. In Australia the full term is AML/CTF, which adds counter-terrorism financing. Since 1 July 2026, real estate agents, conveyancers and lawyers have been covered by these laws, which AUSTRAC regulates. They must have an AML/CTF program and a compliance officer, train their staff, check who their customers are and be ready to report to AUSTRAC.
What ID will I need when I buy a property?
Once you’re the successful purchaser, expect to show photo ID, such as a driver’s licence, with your full name, residential address and date of birth; digital driver’s licences are accepted. You’ll also be asked how you’re paying, for example with a loan, whether you’re buying through a trust or other legal arrangement, and whether you’re a politically exposed person. The business will tell you what ID it accepts.
When does the selling agent have to check my ID?
The selling agent starts providing its service to you when the sale is reasonably expected to go ahead, typically when your offer is accepted and the contract is signed. It can finish its checks later, but no later than 28 days after contracts are exchanged or 3 days before the settlement date first agreed, whichever comes first. At an auction, the checks can wait until after the hammer falls.
Do I have to prove where my deposit came from?
Not always. A business must ask for more information, such as proof of your source of funds and source of wealth, when it identifies a higher risk, for example an unusually large or complex transaction, a foreign politically exposed person or a link to a high-risk country. Acceptable evidence includes a payslip summary or employer letter, an accountant’s letter, an executor’s letter for an inheritance, or the sale record of a property you sold.
Do the AML rules apply to private property sales?
Partly. AUSTRAC says private sales of residential property aren’t captured by the real estate services, because they aren’t carried out as part of a business selling real estate. But a conveyancer or solicitor who acts for you on the purchase still provides a regulated service, so expect them to check your identity before settlement.
What happens if I can’t provide ID for a property purchase?
If a business can’t establish who you are and the other required matters on reasonable grounds, it must not provide the service, and it must report to AUSTRAC if it reasonably suspects you aren’t who you claim to be. If you can’t get standard ID because of circumstances beyond your control, ask about alternative identification procedures, which AUSTRAC allows businesses to use.