IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING COST INCREASE

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New 2025 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations are being significantly expanded in Australia from the 1st of March 2026 to impose obligations in many sectors including now real estate agents, lawyers and conveyancers.

There will be new mandatory risk assessments, new compliance programs, and stricter reporting (AUSTRAC), modernizing laws for global standards.

As a result of this, additional work will be required in all conveyancing matters. All conveyancers and lawyers who do conveyancing are required to comply with these new obligations.

Initial client due diligence is required before providing you with any service.

It will be necessary for me to establish the following matters on reasonable grounds before you I commence

providing you with a designated service:

• Your identity – this will include: Full Name, other name(s) (if any) commonly known by. For example, a former name or an anglicised name (if any), date of birth, residential address
• A copy of your passport or driver’s licence or a foreign national identity number.
• The identity of any other person/s who will receive a service (such as a beneficiary of a trust or foreign equivalent) and they will need to provide the same identity information
• The identity of any person acting on your behalf, and their authority to act and they will need to provide the same identity information
• For trusts or companies, the identity of any beneficial owners who will need to provide the same identity information
• The nature and purpose of the transaction
• Your source of funds or wealth ( eg bank loan, savings, etc)
• If you or any other person receiving the service holds a prominent public position in a government body or international organisation (for example, a government minister) or is a family member or close associate of such a person. 

Legal fees will increase as a result of additional time and work required to meet these obligation. All clients will need to complete an online Verification of Identity and questionnaire as will any associated person receiving the service or person acting on your behalf.

Nothing in the new regulations affects the right of a person to refuse to give information, or answer any question, or produce any document if the information or document would be privileged from being given or produced on the grounds of legal professional privilege.

If however the information is not provided to me then I am not able to provide the service.

From 1st April 2026 legal fees will be as follows: