Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws are changing, and as a result, accounting and financial planning firms will have additional obligations when providing certain services to clients.
While these changes may mean a few extra steps from time to time, they are designed to help protect you, our business and Australia’s financial system from financial crime.
At q4 financial, we are updating our processes to ensure we meet these new legal requirements while continuing to make the experience as straightforward and efficient as possible for our clients.
What does this mean for you?
Depending on the services we provide, we may ask you to:
• Provide or update proof of identity (such as a driver’s licence or passport).
• Confirm or update your personal details.
• Provide additional information where required, such as the source of funds or wealth for certain transactions.
• Confirm who owns or controls a business, company or other entity.
• Update information if your personal or financial circumstances have changed.
While we may already hold some of this information, the updated legislation requires us to ensure that the client information remains current, accurate and appropriately documented.
Do you need to do anything now?
No. You do not need to take any action unless we contact you.
If we require additional information, we will explain exactly what we need, why we need it and how you provide it.
New clients
Identity verification will become a standard part of our onboarding process for new clients. Depending on the services being provided, we may ask you to complete these requirements before we commence work.
This helps us understand your circumstances, confirm who we are acting for and ensure we meet our legal obligations from the outset.
Existing clients
Even if you have been a client of q4 financial for many years, we may occasionally need to confirm or update information we have previously collected.
We appreciate this may seem repetitive; however, the new legislation requires us to ensure that client information remains current and accurate throughout our professional relationship. These requirements apply across the accounting and financial services professions and are designed to protect both our clients and the wider financial system.
Protecting your information
We understand that providing identification and personal information is an important matter.
Any information you provide will be collected, used and stored securely in accordance with our privacy obligations. We will only request information that is necessary to meet our legal requirements and to continue providing our services.
Our responsibilities under AML/CTF requirements
As part of these obligations, professional firms may be required to identify and report certain activities where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may be associated with money laundering, terrorism financing or other unlawful activities.
These obligations apply to regulated businesses across Australia and are intended to help safeguard the integrity of Australia’s financial system. They do not imply wrongdoing by our clients.
In limited circumstances, the legislation may prevent us from notifying a client if a report has been made. This is known as a “tipping off” prohibition and is designed to ensure reporting processes remain effective.
Our commitment to you
We recognise that additional compliance requirements can sometimes feel like extra administration. Our commitment is to make the process as simple and seamless as
possible, clearly why we are requesting information, and continue providing the personalised service you expect from q4 financial.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as these important changes are introduced.
If you have any questions about the new AML/CFT requirements or the information we may request, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team.