Helping Keep Property Transactions Safe and Secure

At Lauren Guy Conveyancing, we are committed to providing a seamless conveyancing experience while meeting our legal obligations under Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws.

From 1 July 2026, conveyancers are required to comply with the AML/CTF legislation when providing designated conveyancing services. These obligations apply to all conveyancing firms across Australia and are designed to help prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crimes.

As part of these legal requirements, we must complete identity and due diligence checks before we can act for you in certain transactions.

The law requires us to understand who we are acting for, the nature of the transaction and, where necessary, the source of the funds being used.

Depending on your matter, we may be required to:

• Verify your identity using approved identification documents or electronic verification.
• Confirm that you are authorised to act.
• Identify any person or entity you are acting on behalf of.
• Identify the beneficial owners of companies, trusts or other entities.
• Understand the purpose and intended nature of your transaction.
• Obtain information about the source of funds and, where required, the source of wealth.
• Conduct ongoing monitoring throughout the transaction where required by law.

These requirements are mandatory and cannot be waived.

The documents required will vary depending on your circumstances and the type of transaction.

You may be asked to provide:

• Australian Passport or Foreign Passport
• Australian Driver Licence
• Proof of residential address
• Medicare Card or other secondary identification (where required)

If purchasing or selling through a company, we may request:

• ASIC Company Extract
• Director identification
• Details of shareholders
• Beneficial ownership information
• Company constitution (where required)

Where a trust is involved, we may request:

• Trust Deed
• Details of the trustee(s)
• Identification of trustees
• Information regarding beneficiaries or controllers where required

If you are acting under a Power of Attorney or on behalf of another person or entity, additional documentation will be required.

The AML/CTF legislation requires us to understand where the funds for your transaction have originated.

Depending on your circumstances, we may ask for documents such as:

• Bank statements showing accumulated savings
• Loan approval documentation
• Evidence of the sale of another property
• Investment statements
• Inheritance documentation
• Gift declarations
• Superannuation release documentation (where applicable)
• Other documents demonstrating the legitimate source of funds

Not every client will be required to provide all of these documents.

To make the verification process faster and more convenient, Lauren Guy Conveyancing may use secure electronic identity verification providers.

Electronic verification compares the information you provide against reliable independent data sources in accordance with Australian privacy laws.

If electronic verification cannot be completed successfully, we may request certified identification documents or conduct a manual verification process.

We understand that the information requested for AML/CTF compliance is personal and sensitive.

Any personal information collected for identity verification or AML/CTF purposes is:

• Collected only where required by law
• Stored securely
• Handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
• Used solely for the purposes of complying with our legal obligations and providing conveyancing services

For more information, please refer to our [Privacy Policy].

To avoid delays with exchange or settlement, we recommend completing your identity verification and providing any requested information as soon as possible after engaging our office.

Transactions cannot proceed until we have met our legal compliance obligations.

Unfortunately, if we cannot verify your identity or obtain information required under the AML/CTF legislation, we may be legally prevented from acting for you or continuing to act on your behalf.

These obligations are imposed by law and apply equally to all conveyancing practices.