Darren Hosiosky
If you run an accounting or tax practice, the rules have changed. AUSTRAC Tranche 2 brings accountants and tax professionals into Australia's AML/CTF regime, which means you now have to verify who your clients are.
From 1 July 2026, firms must run AML and KYC (know your customer) checks on the clients they provide designated services to. That means verifying client identity, screening against PEP and sanctions lists, and identifying the beneficial owners (UBOs) behind every entity you act for.
It's the right thing for the system. It's also a mountain of admin.
What is AUSTRAC Tranche 2?
AUSTRAC is Australia's financial intelligence agency and AML/CTF regulator. "Tranche 2" refers to the reforms that extend the AML/CTF regime to a second group of businesses, including accountants, tax and BAS agents, lawyers, real estate agents, and dealers in precious metals and stones.
For years, these professions sat outside the regime. Tranche 2 brings them in. If your firm provides designated services such as managing client money, helping set up entities, or acting on certain transactions, you're now a reporting entity with obligations to AUSTRAC.
What does Tranche 2 mean for your firm?
In practical terms, you have to know who your clients are and prove it.
Think about your client list. Hundreds, maybe thousands of individuals and entities. Now picture verifying every one of them by hand.
That's collecting a driver's licence or passport from each client. Running it against the Document Verification Service. Screening against sanctions and PEP lists. Then, for every company, trust, or partnership, working out who the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) are and verifying them too.
For a firm with complex client structures, the UBO piece alone can swallow an admin team for weeks. And it repeats. This is ongoing work, for every new client and every review cycle.
The old way of handling this with Australia Post, standalone ID tools, and spreadsheets to track who's been done turns a compliance obligation into a full-time chasing job. That's exactly the kind of work that backs up during busy periods and pulls your support team off everything else.
How to verify clients for AUSTRAC in one workflow
Today we went live with AUSTRAC Tranche 2 verification inside Admiin.
It sits in the KYC/AML tab in your portal, and it runs the whole check in-workflow. Your client data stays in one place, in the same platform you already use to prepare, sign, and lodge. Here's how it works.
Verify in bulk, in a few clicks
Select your clients, click AUSTRAC, and start the request. You can verify up to 1,000 clients at once. Each client then gets:
A warm-up email, branded from your firm, letting them know there are new AUSTRAC requirements and a mandatory check to complete
About five minutes later, a verification request via SMS and email
The client opens it on their phone, photographs their driver's licence or passport, and submits. A short, guided flow they can finish on their own.
Every mandatory check, done for you
When a verification comes back, Admiin has already run the full set of checks AUSTRAC requires:
A fraud check
KYC against the Document Verification Service (DVS)
Screening against PEP and sanctions lists
If something fails, you can see exactly where: which check, which list, and the reason. You can also pull up the submitted IDs for any client directly.
UBO data, pulled automatically
This is the part that usually breaks firms. When you run a verification on an entity with multiple UBOs, Admiin pulls the UBO data for you. The beneficial owners come back ready, even on the larger, messier structures.
And when you verify both a company and the individuals behind it, Admiin matches those individuals to the company. A client who's a UBO of an entity you also act for verifies once, and Admiin connects the dots for you.
(One thing to watch: if a client's name is spelt differently in your list than on their ID, you may get a request to update the details before the match goes through. A quick fix, and a good reason to keep your client names clean.)
Charge it on, or absorb it. Your call.
Verification charges show up line by line in the Charges tab under Settings. You can see every individual cost, then decide whether to bank it into your client fees or absorb it yourself. Need it for your records or reporting? Export the lot to Excel or CSV.
How to track AUSTRAC verification status across your firm
As clients complete their verifications, or if one fails, a notification comes through to the platform. Each client page shows their status, the underlying check details, and an activity summary. At any point you can see who's verified, who's outstanding, and who needs a second look.
For a single client, the flow is just as simple:
Open the client and click into verification
Send the verification warm-up email (the branded heads-up from your firm)
The client gets the request by SMS and email shortly after
Click start verification, select AUSTRAC customer due diligence, and create the request
That's the whole job. If a client is missing something, like an email address on file, Admiin prompts you to fill the gap before sending.
Compliance that scales with your client list
AUSTRAC Tranche 2 is here to stay, and the volume of checks grows as your client list does. The firms that handle it well will fold it into a workflow their team already uses, then keep their people focused on the work that moves the firm forward.
That's what we've built. AML and KYC in the same place you already prepare, sign, and lodge.
AUSTRAC verification is live in Admiin now.
Sign up free to get your clients verified, or book a demo and we'll walk you through it.
Frequently asked questions
What is AUSTRAC Tranche 2?
AUSTRAC Tranche 2 is the set of reforms that extend Australia's AML/CTF regime to a second group of businesses, including accountants, tax and BAS agents, lawyers, real estate agents, and dealers in precious metals and stones. Firms that provide designated services become reporting entities with AML and KYC obligations.
Do accountants have to do AML and KYC checks?
Yes. Under Tranche 2, accountants and tax professionals who provide designated services must verify their clients' identity, screen them against PEP and sanctions lists, and identify the beneficial owners behind the entities they act for.
When do the Tranche 2 obligations start?
The obligations for tranche-two entities, including accountants and tax professionals, commence on 1 July 2026. Enrolment with AUSTRAC opens ahead of that date, so firms can prepare their systems and client records early.
What checks are required under AUSTRAC customer due diligence?
Customer due diligence covers identity verification (such as a driver's licence or passport checked against the Document Verification Service), a fraud check, screening against PEP and sanctions lists, and identifying the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of any entity.
How can my firm verify clients without slowing down the team?
Admiin runs AUSTRAC verification inside the same workflow you use to prepare, sign, and lodge. You can bulk verify up to 1,000 clients at once, clients complete the check on their phone, and the mandatory fraud, DVS, PEP, sanctions, and UBO checks run automatically. Status, billing, and reporting all sit in one dashboard.
