As the managing partner of your law firm, you must prepare for a new operational challenge: complying with Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Amendment Bill, which goes into effect in 2026.
This legal change presents several risks to your firm’s operations:
- Violating the law’s requirements could harm your firm’s reputation and cost millions in penalties.
- Complying with the law could distract your partners from client service and business development.
- Collecting information from your clients to ensure compliance could create a burden for your clients.
You can help your firm mitigate these risks by implementing Intapp solutions that give your partners and clients an easy, configurable, digital process for complying with AML laws. Below we look at a few of the details of complying with the new Australian law — and how Intapp products simplify these critical steps.
Increase information gathering, monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping
Under the new Australian law, law firms must gather and review more information to understand their clients. For example, law firms will have to employ multiple, cross-referenced verification methods and trace complex ownership structures.
This process is not a once-and-done task. Your firm must monitor changing client circumstances as well as report transactions or behaviors that might indicate underlying risks.
Your firm must also maintain records of its compliance efforts. You’ll need:
- Detailed transaction records
- Complete identity verification documentation
- Comprehensive risk assessment documentation
- Audit trails for all compliance-related activities
Adopt a strategic solution for AML/CTF compliance challenges
So how can your firm comply with the amendment bill’s extensive requirements — with the least burden on your partners’ and clients’ time?
Intapp compliance software makes it easy for your clients to submit required information and for your partners to review it. In addition, the software automatically handles ongoing monitoring needs and recordkeeping requirements.
Easy collection and review
With Intapp Intake and external forms, your firm can securely collect sensitive information in an external environment. Clients simply log in to the environment to upload any requested documents — without the risk of sharing their private personal details over email. That data is then pulled into your firm’s internal environment for review and workflow processing.
Your firm can then verify client identities, relying on the integration between Intapp Intake and third-party data sources (such as Moody’s) to review firmographic information, including details like a client’s registered address, legal structure, and global parent company. Your professionals see this information in the Intapp Intake solution itself — without having to switch to another application or browser.
Automatic monitoring
Intapp Intake continuously monitors active clients and engagements for evolving risk factors, including the client’s inclusion on any sanctions lists. If Intapp Intake’s automatic monitoring uncovers an issue, the software alerts designated users or departments.
In addition, if a client’s organizational structure changes, Intapp Intake will trigger a new AML/KYC workflow, sending requests for information to clients.
Automatic recordkeeping
Intapp Intake also automatically stores and saves in a centralized location all records of collected information, review activities, and decisions. This ensures that you have all the records the Australian amendment bill requires, including identity verification documentation and audit trails.
Choose software built to solve your problems
As you prepare your firm for compliance with the new requirements contained with the Australian AML/CTF amendment bill, consider how Intapp Intake helps you:
- Reduce operational costs through automation and efficiency
- Minimize risk of regulatory penalties and reputational damage
- Improve client and partner satisfaction through painless processes
- Differentiate your firm by demonstrating strong, efficient compliance practices
In these ways, Intapp Intake also strengthens your position as an effective steward of your firm.
The AML/CTF bill has created a high-stakes challenge for law firms, and Intapp is a trusted resource with proven workflows and best-in-class compliance history. Learn more about how Intapp software can power unified AML due diligence and client onboarding.