The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has released a new factsheet to support members who will be impacted by Tranche 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regime, which will include the accounting sector from 1 July.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)-regulated program is set to be extended to tax practitioners who provide designated services.
The factsheet outlines the changes professionals will have to take into account and also how their new obligations will interact with their existing responsibilities under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA).
“Many tax practitioners may already have processes and obligations in place under the TASA framework that align with many aspects of the AML/CTF regime and I encourage tax practitioners to make full use of the TPB’s new factsheet to better understand how the AML/CTF requirements interact with their existing obligations, and to take steps now to assess and manage their risks ahead of the changes,” TPB chair Peter de Cure said.
The factsheet includes a table of professional services covered by the AML/CTF regime and some examples for reference.
Assisting a client in planning or executing a transaction to sell, buy or transfer real estate is a professional service except if the transaction is made to comply with a court/tribunal order.
The tool lists preparing, reviewing or lodging contracts, researching property titles and land use, and preparing financial settlements and documents for registration as examples of that service.
It also reminds tax practitioners if they do provide a designated service covered by the AML/CTF regime, their obligations include enrolling with AUSTRAC as a reporting entity, maintaining a documented AML/CTF program and implementing appropriate governance arrangements, along with reporting certain suspicious activity to the government agency and conducting due diligence.
Providers must apply to enrol by 29 July if they provide any of the new designated services that commence on 1 July.
