AML/CTF: Practitioners - Are you Ready?

From 1 July 2026, many of CPA Australia's Australian-based members in practice will be included in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regime as it extends to service providers who may be exploited to facilitate money-laundering and terrorism-financing activities.

The amending legislation to extend the existing regime under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 to the providers of services typically provided by legal practitioners, accounting practitioners and real estate agents was passed late 2024. AUSTRAC, as the regulator, introduced delegated legislation (the AML/CTF Rules) and core guidance and is developing industry-specific guidance in close consultation with participants of relevant affected industries, including CPA Australia.

Public practitioners will have substantial preparatory work to do to be compliant with the new regime by July 2026, as well as to understand and meet their ongoing obligations.

This session is co-presented by CPA Australia staff from Policy & Advocacy and Professional Standards along with AML/CTF specialists from Hall & Wilcox.

We have the below speakers for the session -

Langton Clarke - Hall & Wilcox
Partner, HW Funds

Langton has extensive experience across all aspects of the funds management industry and financial services. He has extensive expertise in investment vehicles seeking to raise capital from the retail and wholesale sectors. Langton advises both start up enterprises and long-established businesses about raising new capital or debt, establishing investment opportunities, restructuring existing businesses and investment projects, and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.

Andrew Ong - Hall & Wilcox
Associate, HW Funds

Andrew advises a wide range of clients from family offices to financial institutions on general financial services regulatory issues and prudential compliance. He has a wealth of experience advising on breach reporting, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing compliance, and compliance with financial services licensing regulation.

Mitchell Thompson CPA - CPA Australia
Engagement Manager

Mitchell Thompson CPA CA, serves as an Engagement Manager within CPA Australia's Professional Standards team. He is dedicated to supporting professionals in public practice, which he considers the most rewarding aspect of his role. Before joining CPA Australia, Mitchell worked as an auditor at Deloitte and spent several years as a specialist consultant for mental health providers, bringing a unique blend of technical expertise and human-centered insight.

Belinda Zohrab - CPA Australia
Regulation and Standards Lead

Belinda Zohrab is the Regulation and Standards Lead at CPA Australia. She began her professional career as a tax specialist, working in accounting and law firms in Australia and New Zealand and has been a teaching fellow in taxation at the University of Auckland. Belinda has held several roles with CPA Australia, including as a technical consultant for the CPA Program and Professional Development offerings and as a specialist in regulatory compliance. These days she advocates on behalf of members of the accounting profession in respect of regulatory obligations with which practitioners in particular have to comply and the accounting professional and ethical standards with which all members of the three accounting bodies in Australia must comply.