AUSTRAC Enrolment: How to Enrol (and What to Do If You Missed the Deadline)

Who this page is for, and an accountant example

Take a three-partner accounting practice that prepares tax returns, sets up companies and trusts for clients, and occasionally acts as a company's registered office. One partner assumes the firm is "too small to be regulated" and another assumes the software vendor will handle it. Months later nobody has enrolled. If any of the firm's services are designated services under the AML/CTF Act, the firm is a reporting entity candidate, and enrolment is the first obligation, ahead of the AML/CTF program, customer due diligence or reporting.

This page covers enrolment only: the practical steps, what you need to hand, what AUSTRAC does with your details, and how to recover if you are late. For the wider reform and who is in scope, see Tranche 2 explained.

Not sure what applies to your firm? Take the 2-minute scope check.

Work out whether you need to enrol first

Enrolment depends on what you do, not on your profession label or firm size. The test is whether you provide a designated service. Accountants, lawyers, conveyancers and real estate agents commonly look at this question, but the answer turns on the specific services you provide. If you are unsure, the scope check is a quick starting point, and AUSTRAC's guidance at austrac.gov.au is the authority. Dates for the wider rollout are tracked on our key dates page.

What you need before you start

Gather this before opening the form. It saves partially completed sessions and mismatched records.

• Legal entity details: the exact registered name, ABN or ACN, and business structure (company, trust, partnership, sole trader). Use the entity that actually provides the services, not a trading name alone.
• Business contact and address details: principal place of business and the channels through which you provide services.
• The list of designated services you provide: your enrolment records which services, so map your service lines first.
• The person completing the enrolment: someone authorised to act for the business, with the access AUSTRAC requires to log in to AUSTRAC Online. Check the current sign-in requirements on the AUSTRAC site.
• Details of key personnel: the individuals you will nominate as contacts and the person who will be your AML/CTF compliance officer.

Step-by-step: enrolling through AUSTRAC Online

The screens and labels can change, so follow AUSTRAC's current instructions where they differ from this outline.

1. Create or access your AUSTRAC Online account. Enrolment is lodged through AUSTRAC Online. One person usually sets up the account for the business and later manages who else has access.
2. Start a new enrolment application. Choose the option for enrolling a business that provides designated services.
3. Enter business details. Add the entity name, identifiers, structure and addresses. Make sure these match your ASIC and ABN records, since mismatches are a common cause of follow-up queries.
4. Select your designated services. Tick every designated service you provide, not just the main one. If the firm adds services later, update the enrolment (see the change rules below).
5. Nominate contacts. Provide the contact people AUSTRAC can reach, and the compliance officer details where requested. Use a role-based mailbox as well as a named person so notices are not missed when someone leaves.
6. Review, declare and submit. Someone with authority should confirm the information is accurate. Save the confirmation and a copy of what you submitted for your compliance file.

What happens after you submit

AUSTRAC assesses the application and, if it is accepted, adds your business to the Reporting Entities Roll, the register of businesses that provide designated services. Once you are on the roll, you are known to AUSTRAC as a reporting entity and can expect to receive communications through AUSTRAC Online and the contacts you nominated.

Enrolment is not the end of your obligations. It does not by itself establish an AML/CTF program or satisfy any customer checks. After enrolling:

• Confirm who your AML/CTF compliance officer is and make sure AUSTRAC has the correct details, following the current notification requirements in the AML/CTF Rules 2025 and AUSTRAC's guidance.
• Work through the program and customer due diligence obligations. Our Tranche 2 compliance checklist covers those.
• Diarise a regular check that your AUSTRAC Online contacts and enrolment details are still correct.

Changes to notify within 14 days

Enrolment details must be kept current. As a rule, you must tell AUSTRAC about changes to your enrolment details within 14 days. Examples include:

• a change of business name, address or contact details;
• a change in the designated services you provide, including starting a new one;
• a change of key personnel or compliance officer;
• changes to the structure of the business, such as a merger, sale or new entity;
• ceasing to provide designated services.

The precise list and timing sit in the legislation and AUSTRAC's guidance, so confirm them against the current text before relying on this summary.

Deadlines at a glance

If you missed the enrolment deadline

Missing the date does not remove the obligation. A late enrolment is better than none, and AUSTRAC treats a business that is still unenrolled differently from one that has come forward. A practical recovery plan:

1. Confirm you provide a designated service. If the answer is not clear, run the scope check and note your reasoning in writing.
2. Enrol today. Do not wait to finish the AML/CTF program first. Enrolment and the program are separate tasks, and enrolment is quicker.
3. Record why you were late. Write a short, factual file note: when you identified the obligation, what delayed enrolment and the date you enrolled.
4. Respond to AUSTRAC promptly. If you have already received a notice from AUSTRAC, including a section 167 notice, read the dates carefully and follow our guide for firms that have received an AUSTRAC notice. Consider taking legal advice.
5. Start closing other gaps. A gap check shows where the rest of your compliance stands, so you are not enrolled but otherwise unprepared.

Penalties for failing to enrol

Failing to enrol when required is a breach of the AML/CTF Act. AUSTRAC has a range of enforcement tools, including infringement notices, and the amounts and powers are set by legislation and can change. We do not quote a specific infringement notice figure here because it needs to be taken from the current legislation or AUSTRAC's published enforcement guidance. Check the current amounts at austrac.gov.au or ask legal counsel. The practical point is that penalty exposure is avoidable at low cost: enrolling takes far less effort than responding to enforcement.

Common enrolment mistakes

• Enrolling the wrong entity. The company, trust or partnership that provides the service is the one that enrols.
• Listing only the main service. Missing secondary services leaves your enrolment incomplete.
• Using one person's inbox. Notices go unread when that person is on leave or has left.
• Treating enrolment as compliance. It is the first step, followed by a program, customer due diligence and reporting.
• Forgetting changes. Updates are due within 14 days, not at year end.

After enrolment: getting client checks in place

Once enrolled, the next practical question for most firms is how to verify clients. Identity verification, document authentication, biometric and liveness checks, and sanctions and PEP screening can be run through an API or a self-serve account. Accountants can see how this fits their workflow on our AML software for accountants page, and the Tranche 2 accountants guide covers obligations for the profession. Plan details are on the pricing page.

Next steps

Step 1: Take the scope check or the gap check. Your result is emailed to you.

Step 2: Ready to verify clients? Sign up free and see the accountant solution.

Last reviewed: 2026. Dates and obligations were checked against AUSTRAC guidance and the AML/CTF Rules 2025 at the time of review. Requirements change, so confirm current details with AUSTRAC or legal counsel. This is general information, not legal advice.