AUSTRAC is now checking who's enrolled. Here's what your business needs to do

From 28 August 2026, AUSTRAC began issuing formal notices to businesses it believes should have registered with AUSTRAC but haven't. If you're a real estate agent, accountant, lawyer, conveyancer, jeweller, or you run a trust and company service business, this applies to you.

AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas has confirmed that enrolling is a legal obligation, not a courtesy, and that businesses continuing to ignore it should expect regulatory scrutiny.

What did AUSTRAC announce on 28 August 2026?

AUSTRAC has started sending what's called a "section 167 notice" to businesses it suspects are operating without enrolling. It's a formal request for information: does your business provide a service covered by these rules, and what are you doing to manage the risk that criminals could use your business to move or hide illicit money?

Receiving one of these notices isn't a finding of wrongdoing on its own. It's typically how AUSTRAC establishes whether a business is regulated in the first place, before any decision is made about further action.

Brendan Thomas described registering as "a basic requirement" and said "the time for preparation has passed." AUSTRAC made this a stated priority throughout its 2026 outreach, so no affected business should be caught off guard.

What happens if a notice is ignored, or a business stays unregistered?

AUSTRAC has been explicit that businesses providing a designated service without enrolling are exposing themselves, their customers and the wider community to criminal exploitation. Failing to respond to a section 167 notice, or continuing to operate without enrolling once contacted, moves a business from an oversight to a deliberate compliance gap in AUSTRAC's eyes.

The AML/CTF Act carries substantial financial penalties for failing to enrol and for non-compliance more broadly. AUSTRAC's current public focus is on establishing who is regulated and encouraging voluntary compliance, but its own priorities document names unregistered businesses, and those complicit with criminal activity, as a specific enforcement target for this financial year. For any business unsure of its status, registering before a notice arrives remains the lower risk path.

How does a business enrol with AUSTRAC?

Enrolment is completed through AUSTRAC's own online system. Businesses need to identify the services they provide so they're registered under the correct category.

For a full walkthrough of the process, including what to prepare beforehand, see APLYiD's guide.

Need help with enrolment or figuring out what information to include? Book a demo with our team.

How can APLYiD help with AML/CTF enrolment and ongoing compliance?

Enrolling with AUSTRAC is the starting point, but the ongoing obligation is proving, on a continuing basis, that a business knows who its customers are and is monitoring for suspicious activity. APLYiD supports newly and previously regulated businesses with identity verification, customer due diligence and know your customer (KYC) checks that align with AML/CTF Act requirements, helping businesses move from a policy on paper to a process that is actually embedded in daily operations, which is precisely the gap AUSTRAC has said it will focus on.

For a business that is still working out its enrolment status, or that has enrolled but has not yet built out its customer verification process, getting that foundation right now is more straightforward than rebuilding it after a section 167 notice arrives.

APLYiD's team can help newly regulated businesses map their designated services to the right due diligence approach and put seamless workflows in place ahead of AUSTRAC's next compliance checkpoint.