3 September 2026
Updated 3 September 2026. This briefing is general regulatory information, not legal advice.
AUSTRAC has announced it has begun issuing section 167 notices to tranche 2 businesses — real estate agents, accountants, lawyers and jewellers among them — that appear to be providing designated services but have not enrolled as reporting entities.
Australia's AML/CTF reforms have moved from education into enforcement. Obligations for the newly regulated sectors commenced on 1 July 2026, the deadline to notify AUSTRAC of a compliance officer passed on 29 July 2026, and compliance assessments for the new sectors are underway. The section 167 round is the next step, aimed squarely at businesses that never completed the first obligation of all: enrolment.
A notice under section 167 of the AML/CTF Act 2006 (Cth) is a statutory demand. It legally compels a business to produce information and documents relevant to assessing its compliance with, or enforcing, obligations under the Act. Three things matter about it:
None of these businesses were found by accident. Real estate licences, conveyancing licences, legal practising certificates, tax agent registrations and second-hand dealer permits all sit on public registers. AUSTRAC can match those registers against its own enrolment list at scale. If you hold a licence to provide what the Act calls a designated service and you are not on the enrolment list, you are findable — and now, demonstrably, found.
The old comfort of "we're too small for AUSTRAC to notice" was never a risk assessment. It was a hope, and the section 167 round is what the end of that hope looks like.
After more than twenty years operating AUSTRAC-regulated businesses, my strong advice is that the worst possible response to a section 167 notice is a drawer. If you receive one:
This is the cheap moment. Enrolment is a form on AUSTRAC Online; it takes an afternoon. But here is the uncomfortable truth behind this whole episode: enrolment is the easiest obligation in the entire framework. If the form isn't done, the risk assessment, the documented AML/CTF program, the customer due diligence and the staff training behind it almost certainly aren't done either — and that is the conversation a section 167 notice starts.
So fix it in the right order: enrol now, then close the program gap behind it, with a short written remediation plan covering the period in between. A documented plan to get compliant is worth a great deal more than a good intention.
For a small agency, conveyancing practice, suburban firm or jewellery business, the blocker usually isn't willingness — it's the blank page. That is exactly what our sector-specific AML/CTF Program Kits exist for: the complete documented program — risk assessment, Part A and Part B program, CDD procedures and forms, reporting registers, training — pre-built for your sector, customised to your business in a weekend, with 30 days of email support and 12 months of updates. For businesses that would rather have it handled end to end, including remediation after a late start, we also offer done-for-you engagements, starting with a free scoping call.
Either way: enrolment this week, program right behind it. Ignoring it is the one option that's now officially off the table.
About the author: Simon Akie is the founder of Rhode AML. He spent more than two decades building and operating AUSTRAC-regulated lending businesses, and now builds practical AML/CTF compliance programs for the tranche 2 sectors.
This article is general regulatory information current at the date above, not legal advice, and does not guarantee any outcome with AUSTRAC or another regulator. Obligations depend on your specific circumstances — obtain independent legal advice where appropriate. Source: AUSTRAC announcement on section 167 notices to unenrolled tranche 2 businesses; AML/CTF Act 2006 (Cth) s 167.