Accounting firms that do this work for clients
Each of these is a designated service. If your firm provides even one, AML/CTF obligations apply. See all nine
Tax agents: client verification in Chekbox aligns with Tax Practitioners Board guidance.
- Set up or restructure companies and trusts
- Hold or manage client money for a transaction
- Help clients buy or sell property or a business
- Act as a director or trustee, or provide a registered office
Five obligations, and where Chekbox fits
These apply from the day your firm provides a designated service. Whether it does is your firm's decision, and AUSTRAC's "check if you'll be regulated" tool can help.
Enrol with AUSTRAC
Within 28 days of first providing a designated service. Update your details within 14 days of any change.
Chekbox is itself AUSTRAC enrolled and registered. Book a consult to talk through what enrolment involves.
Run an AML/CTF program
A written risk assessment, plus the policies and controls that manage those risks. Senior management approves it and a compliance officer oversees it. In a small firm, one person can hold all three roles.
Chekbox runs and records the client checks your program sets out, and can verify your own staff when they join.
Know your client
Verify who your client is before you act, keep monitoring through the relationship, and apply enhanced checks when the risk is high.
Biometric identity checks, beneficial ownership checks and sanctions screening, with every result saved to the client's file.
Report to AUSTRAC
Suspicious matters within 3 business days, or 24 hours for terrorism financing. Cash transactions of A$10,000 or more within 10 business days. Plus an annual compliance report.
Every check is logged with who, when and the result: the evidence behind each report.
Keep records for 7 years
Your program, client checks, transactions and staff training, kept accurate and complete.
Checks, signatures and key document actions are recorded in a tamper-proof audit trail kept for 7 years. Each document's audit trail downloads as a PDF.
The nine services that bring AML/CTF obligations
Obligations come from the work you do, not your job title. If your firm provides even one of these designated services, they apply. Whether it does is your firm's decision.
Transactions
Work on a client's deal, sale or financing- Property dealsHelping a client plan or carry out the sale, purchase or transfer of real estate.For example: Handling the settlement funds for a client's property purchase.
- Selling a business or entityHelping a client plan or carry out the sale, purchase or transfer of a company, trust or other legal arrangement.For example: Running the due diligence and contracts for the sale of a client's business.
- Handling client moneyReceiving, holding or managing a client's money or property as part of a transaction.For example: Holding a deposit in your trust account for a client's purchase.
- Raising financeHelping organise equity or debt financing for a company, trust or other legal arrangement.For example: Arranging a loan or share issue for a client's company.
Structures
Setting up and changing companies and trusts- Setting up and restructuringHelping create or restructure a company, trust or other legal arrangement.For example: Drafting and executing the deed for a client's family trust or SMSF.
- Shelf companiesSelling or transferring a shelf company.For example: Selling a ready-made company to a client.
Roles and addresses
Acting for a client or lending your address- Acting in a positionActing, or arranging for someone to act, in certain positions such as director, secretary, partner or trustee.For example: Acting as a director of a client's corporate trustee.
- Nominee shareholderActing, or arranging for someone to act, as a nominee shareholder of a company or other legal arrangement.For example: Holding shares in a client's company as their nominee.
- Registered officeProviding a registered office or principal place of business address.For example: Letting a client use your office as their registered address.
Not sure if your work is covered? AUSTRAC's "check if you'll be regulated" tool can help. These services apply when they have a geographical link to Australia.
Schedule a consultOne login for the whole client file
A new trust client, start to finish.
- 1Send the engagement letterOne at a time, or the same letter to many clients at once, with reminders before the deadline.
- 2Upload the trust deedThe AI Trust Deed Reader pulls out the trustees, appointor and beneficiaries for your team to review.
- 3Verify every personEach trustee and beneficial owner gets their own identity check link, sent in the same request.
- 4Keep it all in one FileDocuments, checks and fees sit together in the File for that job, with check costs added as disbursements.
- 5Invoice and get paidThe client pays through a link and the payment appears in Transactions.
Verify clients properly
Clients photograph their ID and take a selfie on their phone. Biometric facial matching, liveness detection and document authenticity checks do the rest. No client account needed.
See who controls the entity
Entity and beneficial ownership checks confirm who controls a company or trust, not just who signs for it.
Let Chekbox read the trust deed
The AI Trust Deed Reader extracts the settlor, appointor, trustees, named beneficiaries and trust type. Your team reviews what it finds and decides who to check, all in one workflow.
Keep trust money in order
Trust accounting connected to Xero to support your annual independent trust account auditor.
Engagement letters, properly signed
Send each engagement letter on its own, or the same letter to many clients at once, with reminders before the deadline. Where you need to be certain who signed, turn on an identity check for the signer.
Bill the cost of compliance back
Every check and search is added to the client's file as a disbursement. Issue the invoice and the client pays through a link.
What an ID document check alone leaves out
A government document check confirms an ID number exists. Here is what else Chekbox covers, in the same platform.
| What you get | ID document check on its own | Chekbox |
|---|---|---|
| Checks the ID details against government records | ||
| Matches the person to the photo on their ID* | ||
| Confirms the person is physically present (liveness)* | ||
| Reads trust deeds and pulls out the people behind them | ||
| Title and PPSR searches in the same file | ||
| Identity-verified e-signing | ||
| Certifies documents as true copies | ||
| Trust accounting connected to Xero | ||
| Bills each check back to your client |
*Included in biometric checks, from $10 per check. The checks and searches your firm can use depend on its plan and industry.
Clear prices, and you can bill them back
Every plan includes unlimited e-signing. Identity checks are charged per check, and most plans include a set number of checks. There's no lock-in contract, and plans are billed monthly.
Up and running in three steps
- 1Book a demo or start a free trialSee the platform with your own workflow in mind.
- 2Choose a plan and get verifiedWhen you subscribe, Chekbox checks your ABN, directors and owners, and a person reviews the application.
- 3Send your first client checkYour client gets a link, verifies on their phone, and the result lands in their file.
Do accountants have to comply with AML/CTF laws?
Yes, if your firm provides a designated service. Obligations began on 1 July 2026. What matters is the work, not the job title: setting up or restructuring a company or trust, managing client money for a transaction, or helping a client buy or sell property or a business are all designated services.
Does Chekbox help tax agents?
Yes. Client verification in Chekbox aligns with Tax Practitioners Board guidance, and the same checks, signing and records work for tax practices.
Do the obligations apply if my client lives overseas?
They can. What matters is whether the service has a geographical link to Australia. AUSTRAC's geographical link guidance explains how this works.
When was the AUSTRAC enrolment deadline?
For firms already providing a designated service when Tranche 2 began, enrolment was due by 29 July 2026. A firm that starts providing one later has 28 days from that date.
Do I need to re-verify my existing clients?
Not straight away. Clients you had before 1 July 2026 are pre-commencement customers. Due diligence applies to them if you need to file a suspicious matter report, or if a significant change raises their risk to medium or high.
What does an AML/CTF program need to include?
A risk assessment covering money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing, plus the policies and controls that manage those risks. Senior management approves it, a compliance officer oversees it, and it is independently evaluated at least every three years.
What happens if we don't comply?
AUSTRAC is the regulator and can take enforcement action against businesses that do not meet their obligations. A weak process also makes it easier for criminals to use your firm to move money.
How does Chekbox verify a client's identity?
Your client gets an email link from your firm, with your logo on it. For a biometric check, they photograph their ID and take a selfie on their phone. The result is saved to their client file and the cost is added to the job as a disbursement. You can also add an AML credit check, which they consent to on the same page.
How much does a client check cost?
Identity checks start at $7 per check and biometric checks with a liveness scan start at $10, both AUD plus GST. Every plan includes unlimited e-signing, and you can bill each check back to your client.
Can Chekbox handle trusts and SMSFs?
Yes. The AI Trust Deed Reader extracts the key people and details from the deed. Beneficial ownership checks then confirm who controls the trust, and each person can be sent their own identity check in the same workflow.
Can I pass the cost of checks on to clients?
Yes. Each check is recorded against the client's job automatically. You set your own fee, raise the invoice in Chekbox, and the client pays through a secure link.
Does Chekbox work with my practice software?
Chekbox connects directly to Xero, so you're not reconciling trust accounting records across two systems, and client payments are processed through Stripe. Existing clients can be imported from a spreadsheet. To see how it fits with your practice management software, schedule a consult.
Who in our firm can see a client's documents?
Admins see every document. Other staff see the documents they created and the documents in Files they have been given access to. Only Professional and Admin logins can sign or certify documents.
How do we get started?
Book a demo or start a free trial. When you choose a plan, Chekbox verifies your firm: your ABN, and the identity of your directors and owners. Import your existing clients from a spreadsheet, then send your first client check.
Tranche 2 began on 1 July 2026.
Get your firm's client checks in order, with a platform built by an accountant.