Class-owned SMSF documentation service provider NowInfinity is developing a software solution for clients to help them with the know-your-customer (KYC) requirements included in Tranche 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act that will come into effect on 1 July.
NowInfinity general manager Kate Anderson indicated the solution should be ready for release by the end of April and would be an add-on to existing KYC tools.
From 1 July, providers of designated services will be required to enrol with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and comply with new AML/CTF obligations, which include comprehensive due diligence on clients and potential clients.
“Customer due diligence is obviously at the heart of Tranche 2 and every member and trustee must be verified and it must be documented,” Anderson reminded attendees at the SMSF Association National Conference 2026 held in Adelaide last month.
Given more professionals in the SMSF space, including accountants, will now be required to comply with AUSTRAC AML/CTF Tranche 2 reforms, she suggested it was crucial professionals started to prepare for their new legal obligations.
“Educate yourself on it, talk to your staff about it and even start talking to your clients about it. Be ready for the implementation,” she said.
To this end, she recommended using a software solution as it provides consistency, reporting, an audit trail and defensibility.
“There are lots of people that are in the process of developing solutions around AML and KYC. So do your research now. NowInfinity is obviously developing a very good solution, but it certainly is worth looking at, and educating yourself first, as to what’s going to fit best into your business as well,” she noted.
She also stressed practitioners and professionals should not and will not be able to rely on software solutions to make the appropriate judgments around whether they need to make a suspicious matter report to AUSTRAC.
“Software doesn’t remove the judgment. It records and it proves judgment, which is what AUSTRAC cares about,” she explained.
