Adverse media screening: what it is, how it works
Adverse media screening searches news, court records and regulator notices for reports linking a client to financial crime or serious misconduct. AUSTRAC does not name it as a required check, but it finds risk that sanctions and PEP lists miss, and that risk shapes your customer due diligence.
This guide is for accountants, lawyers, conveyancers, real estate agents and other businesses that run anti-money laundering (AML) checks on clients. Rules from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) are quoted from its own guidance, checked on 21 October 2026.
What does adverse media screening look for?
It looks for public reporting that links a person or business to financial crime or serious misconduct. That includes fraud, money laundering, bribery, corruption, tax evasion, organised crime and terrorism financing.
Coverage of an investigation counts even when nobody has been charged. So does reporting that links your client to a company under investigation.
Typical sources include:
- National and international news outlets
- Regulator enforcement notices and published disciplinary action
- Court and tribunal records
- Police and law enforcement announcements
- Most-wanted and financial crime investigation lists
Source quality matters. Social media, tabloids, blogs and paid articles add noise and false matches, so good tools leave them out.
How is it different from sanctions and PEP screening?
Sanctions, PEP and adverse media screening compared
| Check | What it looks for | What AUSTRAC requires |
|---|---|---|
| Sanctions | Whether a person or entity is designated for targeted financial sanctions, such as on DFAT’s Consolidated List | Establish it before you provide a designated service, for the customer, beneficial owners and anyone acting for them |
| PEP | Whether a person holds or held a prominent public position, or is a family member or close associate of someone who does | Establish it before the service. A foreign PEP always needs enhanced CDD and senior manager approval |
| Adverse media | Public reporting that links a person or business to financial crime or serious misconduct | Not a named check. It is information for assessing the customer’s ML/TF risk, which you must do |
Sources: AUSTRAC, Overview of initial customer due diligence; AUSTRAC, Politically exposed persons (PEPs); AUSTRAC, Enhanced customer due diligence; DFAT, Consolidated List Reviewed
Each check answers a different question, and a client can pass two and fail the third. Someone with no sanctions listing and no public role can still appear in fraud coverage.
The law treats them differently too. Sanctions and PEP status are named in the AML/CTF Act; adverse media is not.
That does not make it optional in practice. It is often the only way to find risk about people who are on no list. For the list checks, see our guides to sanctions screening and enhanced due diligence for PEPs.
Does AUSTRAC require adverse media screening?
Not by name. AUSTRAC requires risk-based customer due diligence (CDD): you must identify and assess each customer’s money laundering and terrorism financing (ML/TF) risk, and keep doing so.
Before you provide a designated service, you must establish who the customer is and who owns or controls them. You must also establish whether any of them is a PEP or designated for targeted financial sanctions.
Adverse media is how many businesses find the risk the lists miss. AUSTRAC itself names adverse media reporting about a customer’s business as a case where source of funds and source of wealth may be relevant.
Key point
Under Australia’s AML/CTF Act, a reporting entity must apply enhanced CDD whenever a customer’s ML/TF risk is high, at onboarding or later.
Since 1 July 2026, these rules also cover accountants, lawyers, conveyancers and real estate agents who provide designated services.
Where does it fit in client onboarding?
Where adverse media screening sits
Adverse media is checked in Screen, then again in Monitor
- Intake Details, documents and consent
- Verify Identity, companies and other entities
- Screen PEP, sanctions and adverse media, on every party
- Assess Risk rating and the decision
- Monitor Monthly re-screening
Re-screening keeps the client current. Monitor re-screens clients against PEP, sanctions and adverse media every month.
Sources: StackGo, Screen workflow; StackGo, Monitor workflow Reviewed
Screening sits after identity verification and before the risk rating. You screen the verified name, not a typed one, so the search starts from facts.
The result then feeds the risk assessment. A credible match can lift a client to high risk, which brings enhanced CDD. Our Screen workflow runs PEP, sanctions and adverse media checks on every party, including directors and beneficial owners.
How do you review a match?
A match is a prompt to look, not a finding. Screening searches by name, with fuzzy matching for spelling variants, so many results are about someone else.
Compare each result with what you know about your client:
- Identity: full name, date of birth and location
- Business: industry, company names and roles
- Links: associated people and entities
- Source: how reliable the outlet is, and how recent the story
Record your decision and the reason, whether you dismiss the match or escalate it. AUSTRAC requires you to keep records of your customer risk assessment and the decisions you make about ongoing CDD.
What happens if a match is real?
Reassess the client’s ML/TF risk. If it is now high, apply enhanced CDD, such as asking for more information, checking source of funds and source of wealth, or reviewing the client more often.
If the coverage gives you reasonable grounds for suspicion, you may need to lodge a suspicious matter report (SMR). It is due within 3 business days, or 24 hours if it relates to terrorism financing. See AUSTRAC reporting forms for how to lodge.
Key point
Under Australia’s AML/CTF Act, a reporting entity that must lodge an SMR and keeps serving the customer must apply enhanced CDD.
Do not tell the client about your suspicion. Disclosing information that could prejudice an investigation is a criminal offence, known as tipping off.
How often should you re-screen?
As often as the client’s risk needs. AUSTRAC sets no fixed interval: your anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) policies must say how often you review each kind of customer, and what triggers an earlier check.
AUSTRAC says you must review a customer’s ML/TF risk when any of these change:
- The type of customer, such as becoming a PEP or new beneficial owners
- The designated services you provide or are asked to provide
- The channels you use, such as moving online or using an agent
- The countries involved
- Your own business ML/TF risk assessment
Unusual transactions or behaviour that may lead to an SMR also trigger a review. Our Monitor workflow re-screens clients against PEP, sanctions and adverse media every month.
How do you cut false positives?
Search on verified details, not typed ones. A name and date of birth taken from the ID document match more precisely than a name alone.
Tune match sensitivity to your client base, and exclude low-quality sources. Then apply one written review standard, so two staff reach the same decision on the same result.
Frequently asked questions
Is adverse media the same as negative news screening?
Yes. Adverse media screening, negative news screening and negative media checks are names for the same search of public reporting.
Do I screen beneficial owners too?
AUSTRAC requires you to identify beneficial owners and check whether they are PEPs or sanctioned. Screening them for adverse media as well gives a fuller picture of the entity’s risk.
Does an old story still count?
It can. Weigh how serious it was, how it ended and how reliable the source is. Record why you decided it does or does not change the client’s risk.
Can I rely on another firm’s screening?
Only under a CDD reliance arrangement that meets the AML/CTF Rules. You remain responsible for CDD that fits the risk the client poses to your business.
Next steps
Adverse media screening works best when it runs on every client, every time, without a separate manual step.
StackGo’s IdentityCheck screens every party against PEP, sanctions and adverse media inside the practice software you already use. See how IdentityCheck supports AUSTRAC Tranche 2 compliance, or read our AML customer due diligence checklist.
Sources
The rules on this page come from these sources, checked on 21 October 2026.
- AUSTRAC, Overview of initial customer due diligence
- AUSTRAC, Overview of ongoing customer due diligence
- AUSTRAC, Reviewing and updating customers’ ML/TF risk and KYC information
- AUSTRAC, Enhanced customer due diligence
- AUSTRAC, Politically exposed persons (PEPs)
- AUSTRAC, Suspicious matter reports
- AUSTRAC, Reliance under customer due diligence arrangements