Australia: Government, Public Sector

Modern slavery can infiltrate any Australian business's supply chain, yet many organisations remain uncertain about their reporting obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2018. With proposed reforms threatening to lower reporting thresholds and introduce financial penalties for the first time, understanding whether your business must lodge an annual modern slavery statement has become critical for compliance and reputation management.

Real estate agents and property developers face significant new compliance obligations under Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing regime, commencing 1 July 2026. What practical steps must businesses take now to ensure their existing processes meet the requirements of customer identification, beneficial ownership verification, risk assessment, and suspicious activity reporting?

Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act is undergoing significant reform, requiring professional services firms including law, accounting and real estate to implement new client verification and risk assessment procedures from July 2026. These changes will mandate identity verification, transaction risk assessments, and collection of detailed client documentation to combat the estimated $68 billion money laundering problem in Australia.