Australia’s anti-money laundering laws expand into property dealings

By Rebekah Griffith, Director, Batt Griffith Legal 

If you have bought or sold a home in South Australia this month, there is a good chance
your lawyer or conveyancer asked you something you have never been asked before.

“Where did the money for this purchase come from?” Or perhaps: “What are you planning
to do with the proceeds of your sale?”

For most people, the instinctive reaction to those questions is the same: why is that any of
your business?

It is a fair reaction. These are personal questions. Your finances are your own affair, and you
have done nothing wrong. So let me explain what is happening.

From July 1, Australia’s anti-money laundering laws, which have applied to banks, casinos
and financial institutions for nearly two decades, now apply to lawyers, conveyancers,
accountants and real estate professionals as well.

The changes are known as the Tranche 2 reforms, and they represent the most significant
expansion of financial crime regulation in Australia in a generation.

The reason behind them is not complicated. Property is one of the most common vehicles
for money laundering in this country.

Criminals buy and sell real estate to clean money derived from drug trafficking, fraud, and
organised crime. Until now, professional advisers, lawyers included, have sat outside the
regulatory net that catches this activity.

Australia has been one of the last developed nations to close that gap. Our banks have had
these obligations for years.

The rest of the world has had them for years. We are catching up.

The cost of money laundering is not just to our government’s budget but also to our
community.

For a long time, there have been concerns that the purchase of real estate to clean money
has been pushing up the cost of housing and making it more difficult for first home buyers
to enter the market.

So what does this mean in practice?

For anyone buying or selling property, or involved in some business transactions, their
lawyer or conveyancer is now required to verify their identity, ask about the source of funds involved, and in some cases request supporting documentation.

That might mean bank statements showing the savings accumulated over years. It might
mean estate records where funds came from an inheritance.

It might mean a letter from an accountant confirming the origin of a business sale. For
most people it will be a brief, unremarkable exchange.

A few questions, a document or two, and it is done.

But I want to be honest about something.

When I first sat with these requirements and thought about what it would feel like to ask a
client I have known for years where their money came from, and what it would feel like to
be that client, my reaction was not entirely comfortable.

There is something that cuts against the grain of a trusted professional relationship in
asking questions that can feel, at face value, like accusation.

The important thing to understand is that these questions are not born of suspicion.

They apply to every single client, every single transaction, regardless of who you are, how
long we have known you, or how straightforward your circumstances appear.

The retired couple selling the family home they have lived in for thirty years will be asked.

The first home buyer who has spent five years saving their deposit will be asked.

The business owner selling a practice they built from nothing will be asked.

The law applies equally, or it does not work at all.

What we can control, and what we are committed to at Batt Griffith Legal, is how these
questions are asked.

We will explain what we need and why before we ask for it.

We will treat every client with the same respect and discretion we always have. We will
handle documentation with care and store it securely.

We will never make a client feel that they are under suspicion, because they are not.
For the vast majority of clients, nothing that is shared with us will ever go further than our
files.

Reporting to AUSTRAC, the government authority that oversees these obligations, occurs
only where a transaction raises genuine concern.

For ordinary South Australians going about ordinary legal business, this is an administrative
step, not an investigation.

It is a new age for the legal profession in this country.

These are not changes we asked for, and I will not pretend there is no inconvenience in
them.

But the underlying purpose, protecting honest buyers and sellers from being unwittingly
caught up in transactions tainted by criminal money, is one worth taking seriously.

If you have questions about what this means for your matter, we are always happy to talk. That has not changed.

Originally publishing in The Islander, 24/7/2026:
https://theislanderonline.com.au/news/2026/07/24/australias-anti-money-laundering-laws-expand-into-property-dealings/ 1/4