Summary of captured services

Whether you are captured by the new AML/CTF reforms depends on whether you provide a ‘designated service’.

Designated services are defined under section 6 of the amended AML/CTF Act and further details on what services are captured are described in the AUSTRAC Core Guidance on Professional Services.

They include certain services, such as assisting clients to:

• buy, sell or transfer real estate,
• buy, sell or transfer legal entities,
• receive, hold, control or manage their funds and/or property, for example, money, accounts, securities or assets,
• sell or transfer a shelf company,
• carry out some transactional work, including equity and debt financing, and
• create or restructure a legal entity or legal arrangement.

For information, see our FAQs Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Reforms.

AML/CTF Core Guidance

AUSTRAC has released revised Core Guidance including Core Guidance on the Professional Services. The guidance provides details about the scope of new regulated services, core obligations for reporting entities and practical implementation strategies for AML/CTF compliance. This guidance is relevant to reporting entities.  

AUSTRAC expects to release sector-specific guidance in January 2026.