AUSTRAC’s first infringement notices: what to do
AUSTRAC began issuing infringement notices to businesses that failed to enrol on 30 September 2026. What they cost, and what to do this week.
On 30 September 2026 Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) began issuing infringement notices to businesses it believes failed to enrol on time. The notices went to businesses in the real estate, accounting and jewellery sectors, three months after Tranche 2 began on 1 July 2026.
From commencement to the first fines
Tranche 2 businesses that have not enrolled
- 1 July 2026
Tranche 2 starts
Accountants, lawyers, real estate, conveyancers, trust and company service providers, and dealers in precious stones and metals.
- Within 28 days
Apply to enrol
No later than 28 days after you first provide a designated service.
- August 2026
Requests for information
AUSTRAC wrote to businesses that appeared to provide designated services but had not enrolled.
- 30 September 2026
First infringement notices
A$21,840 for a company and A$4,368 for an individual, which AUSTRAC says can accrue daily.
- FY26/27
Effort, not perfection
Enrolled, a program, a compliance officer, trained staff, and ready to report a suspicious matter.
Sources: AUSTRAC, AUSTRAC begins issuing infringement notices to non-enrolled businesses (30 September 2026); AUSTRAC, Enrol with us overview; AUSTRAC, Update to regulator statement of expectations (21 May 2026) Reviewed
This page is for owners and partners who are not sure their firm is enrolled, or who enrolled but have not built the rest of their program. It covers what AUSTRAC did, what the notices cost, and what to do this week.
What AUSTRAC did on 30 September
In August AUSTRAC sent formal requests for information to businesses that had not enrolled but appeared to be providing designated services. The infringement notices followed. They went to businesses AUSTRAC believes did not enrol within 28 days of providing a designated service.
AUSTRAC says around 90 per cent of the first group it looked at have now enrolled or tried to. It also says it is actively looking for businesses that have not enrolled and will issue more notices where necessary. Its CEO, Brendan Thomas, said: “Enrolment is a simple first step, and there is no excuse for failing to take it.”
What the notices cost
- A$21,840 for a company. That is 60 penalty units at A$364.
- A$4,368 for an individual. That is 12 penalty units.
- AUSTRAC says the amounts can accrue on a daily basis. Waiting does not make it smaller.
AUSTRAC's other enforcement actions include remedial directions, enforceable undertakings and civil penalty orders from the Federal Court, which can reach 100,000 penalty units for a company. AUSTRAC says infringement notices may be made public. Our guide to AML/CTF penalties covers how a notice is paid and what paying it settles.
Do you need to be enrolled?
You must enrol if you provide a designated service with a geographical link to Australia. Tranche 2 firms enrol; they do not register. Registration is for remitters and some virtual asset providers.
For accountants, being an accountant does not make you a reporting entity. Specific services do, such as helping create or restructure a company or trust, providing a registered office address, or receiving and managing a client's property to help with a transaction. AUSTRAC lists them on its professional designated services page, and our guide to designated services for accountants works through them. If you provide even one, you need to enrol.
Not enrolled yet: what to do this week
- Check your services against the list. Write down which designated services you provide and when you first provided one after 1 July 2026. That date starts your 28 days.
- If you provide one, enrol now. Create an AUSTRAC Online account, log in and complete the enrol a new business form. You can save it and come back for up to 14 days. When you submit, you get a receipt number and an AUSTRAC Account Number, and AUSTRAC emails you when you are enrolled.
- If you are not sure, ask AUSTRAC. AUSTRAC tells businesses unsure of their obligation to visit its website or contact AUSTRAC Central. Where its guidance does not answer your question, it expects you to reach your own position, document it and keep any advice you relied on.
- If you have received a notice, get advice before you respond. Enrol regardless; the notice does not do it for you.
One caution: if you enrol and later find you do not provide a designated service, you have to ask to be removed from the Reporting Entities Roll. While you stay on it, you have obligations, including the annual compliance report.
Enrolled: what AUSTRAC expects next
Enrolment is the first step, not the last. For 2026-27, AUSTRAC's regulator statement says it expects newly regulated businesses to:
- be enrolled
- have an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) program and an AML/CTF compliance officer
- train staff on the program
- be ready to have a go at reporting when a suspicious matter arises.
It also says it expects “effort, not perfection” this year, with controls and reports improving over time. That is a description of progress, not a grace period. Enrolment is not the only obligation an infringement notice can cover. AUSTRAC's list of consequences of not complying includes designating and notifying a compliance officer, documenting, approving and following your program, customer due diligence, reporting, and record keeping.
If you have not started your program, AUSTRAC's starter kits are the fastest route for a small firm. See our guide to the accounting starter kit and the compliance officer requirements.
What StackGo does here
StackGo does not enrol you with AUSTRAC or write your AML/CTF program. Those are yours to do, and the steps above cover them. Once your program says how you check clients, StackGo's IdentityCheck runs those checks: it verifies identity and screens every party, including directors and beneficial owners, against politically exposed person (PEP), sanctions and adverse media sources. Assess records a risk rating and your decision on the client file, and Monitor re-screens monitored clients every month. That is the customer due diligence and record keeping part of the list above, done the same way for every client.
Book a demo to see a client checked from start to finish.
Frequently asked questions
How much is an AUSTRAC infringement notice?
The first notices were A$21,840 for a company and A$4,368 for an individual. AUSTRAC says they can accrue daily.
How long do I have to enrol with AUSTRAC?
You must apply no later than 28 days after the day you start providing a designated service.
Does enrolling now stop a notice?
AUSTRAC has not said that enrolling late cancels a notice already issued. It has said businesses with obligations should come forward and enrol now, and that it will issue more notices where necessary.
Which businesses received the first notices?
Businesses in the real estate, accounting and jewellery sectors that AUSTRAC believes did not enrol within 28 days of providing a designated service.
Sources
Checked on 24 October 2026.
- AUSTRAC, AUSTRAC begins issuing infringement notices to non-enrolled businesses (30 September 2026)
- AUSTRAC, Enrol with us overview
- AUSTRAC, Consequences of not complying (updated 15 October 2026)
- AUSTRAC, Update to regulator statement of expectations (21 May 2026)
- AUSTRAC, Professional designated services
- Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Part 15, Division 3, infringement notices)