Brokers and planners who do this work for clients
If your business provides a designated service, AML/CTF obligations apply. Your business makes that call. See all nine
Financial planners: AUSTRAC's guidance on the new professional services is addressed to financial advisers, among others. Advice on its own generally isn't covered.
- Arrange home, investment or business loans
- Arrange cover for individuals and businesses
- Advise clients on investments, SMSFs and structures
- Work with co-borrowers, guarantors and trustees
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. Advice on its own generally isn't covered: AUSTRAC's guidance says the service has to directly carry out the deal, such as drafting a trust deed or handling a client's money for a transaction. Whether your business provides one is your 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.
- Selling a business or entityHelping a client plan or carry out the sale, purchase or transfer of a company, trust or other legal arrangement.
- Handling client moneyReceiving, holding or managing a client's money or property as part of a transaction.
- Raising financeHelping organise equity or debt financing for a company, trust or other legal arrangement.
Structures
Setting up and changing companies and trusts- Setting up and restructuringHelping create or restructure a company, trust or other legal arrangement.
- Shelf companiesSelling or transferring a shelf company.
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.
- Nominee shareholderActing, or arranging for someone to act, as a nominee shareholder of a company or other legal arrangement.
- Registered officeProviding a registered office or principal place of business 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 loan application, start to finish.
- 1Send the intake formThe client fills in your smart form from a link, on its own or before their identity check. No account or password needed.
- 2Verify every borrowerEach borrower, co-borrower and guarantor gets their own identity check link.
- 3Keep documents togetherEverything for the application sits in the File for that job, and each signed document is sealed with its own Hash ID.
- 4Send for signingTurn on an identity check so you know each borrower signed personally.
- 5Keep the recordChecks, signatures and key document actions are logged. Anyone holding a finished document can confirm it's genuine through the Chekbox verification page.
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.
Smart intake forms
Standard or custom forms shared by link. Clients fill them in without an account, and every submission is recorded.
Renewals that don't slip
Documents that need reissuing each year, such as authorities, are listed when they fall due. Select them and Chekbox creates the new cycle.
Signed by the right person
Send applications and authorities for signing, with an identity check on the signer, so you know who signed.
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)* | ||
| Collects client details with smart intake forms | ||
| Title and PPSR searches in the same file | ||
| Identity-verified e-signing | ||
| Lists annual documents due for renewal | ||
| Bills each check back to your client |
*Included in biometric checks, from $10 per check. The checks and searches your business 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 financial services businesses have to comply with AML/CTF laws?
It depends on the services your business provides. Obligations began on 1 July 2026 for businesses that provide designated services, and AUSTRAC's guidance on these services is addressed to financial advisers, among others. Advice on its own generally isn't covered: the service has to directly carry out the transaction. Your business makes that call, and AUSTRAC's "check if you'll be regulated" tool can help.
Can we verify co-borrowers and guarantors?
Yes. Add each person by name and email and they get their own identity check link. To show a result on someone's own client record, add them as a client first.
Do clients need a Chekbox account?
No. They open a link, prove who they are and complete the form or signature. There is no password to forget.
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 businesses already providing a designated service when Tranche 2 began, enrolment was due by 29 July 2026. A business 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.
How does Chekbox verify a client's identity?
Your client gets an email link from your business, 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 recorded 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.
How do renewals work?
The Renew documents screen lists what is approaching the end of its life. Select what to renew and Chekbox creates the new cycle. Reminders of 1, 3, 7 or 14 days are chosen when you send.
Can I pass the cost of checks on to clients?
Yes. Each check is recorded against the client's File automatically. You set your own fee, raise the invoice in Chekbox, and the client pays through a secure link.
Who in our business 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 business: 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 client checks in order, with a platform built by a lawyer and an accountant.