The Confidence Gap
65.6% of businesses are confident they'd pass an AUSTRAC review. Only 34.4% actually meet every governance and practice requirement checked together. Report P5
Two-thirds of Australian businesses think they're AML compliant. Only one in three actually are.
New research from Visibl into how ready Australian real estate, legal and accounting businesses are for the AML/CTF Tranche 2 reforms based on a survey of over 60 businesses and interviews with practitioners on the ground.
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Key Stats
Key Stats
The confidence gap
65.6% — confident they'd pass an AUSTRAC review
The compliance blindspot
34.4% — actually meet every governance and practice requirement (a 31-point gap)
More than half believe VOI alone satisfies AML
75.4% — believe ID checks (VOI) alone satisfy their AML obligations. That's over 42.6% unknowingly non-compliant as a result
Why this matters?
Why this matters?
A compliance regime built for banks, handed to 100,00 small business
Since1 July 2026, Australia's AML/CTF reforms brought an estimated 80,000–100,000 real estate, legal and accounting businesses into a compliance regime built for banks. For the first time, these “gatekeeper” professions must independently verify identities, screen for risk and report suspicious activity — obligations most had never faced before.
We surveyed 61 of these businesses and spoke to three practitioners in depth to understand not just whether they're aware of the reforms, but whether they're actually ready. The gap between the two turned out to be the story.
Five findings, skimmable in thirty seconds.
The Compliance Blindspot
75.4% believe their identity checks alone satisfy their AML obligations. More than half of them are wrong — leaving 42.6% of businesses unknowingly non-compliant. Report P7
The Size Divide
Businesses under 20 staff report meaningfully lower confidence and preparedness than larger firms. 41% cite time or cost as their single biggest challenge. Report P8
The Risk Assessment Backlog
Risk Assessment was ranked the #1 concern — yet 18% of businesses still hadn't completed one a month after the law took effect. Report P9
The Duplication Problem
A single property transaction can require identity verification up to five times. Businesses are independently calling for a national digital ID. Report P10
The Risk Rating & ID Misconception
Tip from Kaan Yuksel, Founder of Visibl and Cerified AML Specialist
What the practitioners told us.
What the practitioners told us.
“A VOI tells you who someone is. It doesn't tell you whether the money is clean. Those are two different jobs, and only one of them is done.”
Kaan Yuksel, Founder, Visibl
""I'm confident we have the core boxes ticked, but practically day to day we’re still figuring out the full scope of the regime”
Jesselyn Dang, Business Transformation Manager, Hk Partners
"If I had to do it on my own, I'd freak out. There's no way a business our size could work through all of that unaided."
Emmanuel Michael , Owner & Founder, InvestorMate
Why work with a Compliance Specialist like Visibl?
Why work with a Compliance Specialist like Visibl?
Understanding compliance requirements and finding the time to manage compliance day to day is complex and time consuming for small businesses. We know from our research, businesses want to do the right thing and in most cases think they are complying with the law. Visibl exists to make compliance a simple, fixed cost routine for businesses. The platform ensures businesses meet every one of the legal obligations; from a risk assessment automatically tailored to your company, policies, training, customer due diligence and risk rating, reporting and audit trails. Plus get access to experts that truly understand the legislation who can simply articulate what it means for your business and support day to day when and if you need it.
View Methodology
Fielded 31 July – 10 August 2026. 61 responses from real estate, legal and accounting businesses, plus in-depth interviews with three industry practitioners. Small sample findings are directional only and should not be read as statistically representative of those professions nationally. Full methodology and limitations are set out in the downloadable report.
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