Do WA settlement agents need a privacy policy and AUSTRAC enrolment in 2026?
Yes. A WA settlement agent providing the property-transfer designated service has been an AUSTRAC reporting entity since 31 March 2026, with the AML/CTF obligations running from 1 July 2026. The service is defined by what you do, not your title, and Privacy Act s 6E(1A) then applies the Act to the activities you carry on for AML/CTF purposes, as if you were an organisation, whatever your turnover.
By Jon Oates, Founder of Privaproof · Last updated
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General information, not legal advice. Your obligations depend on your circumstances.
Is it the same obligation under a different label?
Conveyancing terminology fragments by state. In NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania the work is done by licensed conveyancers; in Western Australia it's done by licensed settlement agents; in the Northern Territory by licensed conveyancing agents; in Queensland and the ACT it's largely done by solicitors. The professional label differs; the Commonwealth obligation does not.
That matters because the guidance published so far is written for "conveyancers": AUSTRAC's own program starter kit for the profession is the conveyancer program starter kit. If you're a WA settlement agent, it's easy to read that and assume it isn't about you. It is. The reforms attach to the service, not the job title, so a WA settlement agent providing the property-transfer designated service is caught in exactly the same way a licensed conveyancer in NSW is.
Why doesn't "settlement agent" get you out of it?
The capturing service is Table 6, Item 1 of the AML/CTF Act (inserted at s 6(5B) by the AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024): "assisting a person in the planning or execution of a transaction, or otherwise acting for or on behalf of a person in a transaction, to sell, buy or otherwise transfer real estate", provided in the course of carrying on a business and not pursuant to a court or tribunal order. AUSTRAC puts the test plainly: "Whether your business has anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations depends on the services you provide." Preparing and lodging transfers, coordinating settlement, and holding and disbursing settlement funds are the core of the job, so the question is not what you are called. It is whether you do those things.
You have been a reporting entity since 31 March 2026. The enrolment date is fixed by statute, not by arithmetic: for anyone already providing a designated service before 1 July 2026, Schedule 3 Part 4 item 12 of the AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024 replaces the 28-day clock in s 51B(1) with the date 29 July 2026. For the earlier cohort, Sch 3 Pt 4 item 12 fixes 29 July 2026 outright rather than counting it from anything. A business that starts providing a designated service after that keeps the ordinary s 51B(1) rule instead. Confirm your firm's position with AUSTRAC.
Do WA licensing rules replace the Commonwealth ones?
WA settlement agents are licensed under the Settlement Agents Act 1981 (WA) s 26, with the Settlement Agents Regulations 1982 and the Settlement Agents Code of Conduct 2016 made under s 82, administered by Consumer Protection within the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety. That regime already imposes trust-account and audit duties (Part IV Division 2), insurance arrangements under s 35, and compliance with the code as a condition of every licence (s 34(1)).
None of that displaces the new Commonwealth obligations. Your WA trust-account rules are not the AML/CTF regime, and your existing licensing duties are not the Privacy Act. A WA settlement agent providing the Table 6 Item 1 service is a reporting entity under federal law and is brought under the Privacy Act by s 6E(1A) exactly like a conveyancer in any other state, on top of, not instead of, the WA rules you already follow.
At a glance
| Obligation | What it means for a WA settlement agent | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting-entity status | Providing the property-transfer designated service makes you an AUSTRAC reporting entity from 31 March 2026 | AML/CTF Act Table 6 Item 1 / s 6(5B) |
| Privacy Act applies (AML/CTF activities) | s 6E(1A) applies the Act "in relation to the activities carried on ... for the purposes of, or in connection with, activities relating to" the AML/CTF Act, as if you were an organisation, regardless of turnover | Privacy Act 1988 s 6E(1A) |
| Privacy policy (APP 1) | "A clearly expressed and up-to-date policy ... about the management of personal information", containing the matters APP 1.4 lists | Privacy Act 1988 Sch 1, APP 1.3 and 1.4 |
| Collection notice (APP 5) | Given to the client at the point you collect their identity and source-of-funds data | OAIC (APP 5) |
| WA licensing unchanged | Trust-account, audit and code-of-conduct duties continue separately, and money records run "not less than 6 years from the date on which the money was received" | Settlement Agents Regulations 1982 r 6F(1)(b) |
What does this mean for your practice?
Becoming a reporting entity is the switch. Section 6E(1A) applies the Privacy Act "in relation to the activities carried on ... for the purposes of, or in connection with, activities relating to" the AML/CTF Act, as if you were an organisation. That is activity-scoped, not a list of files: the customer due diligence, beneficial-ownership checks, PEP and sanctions screening and source-of-funds work all sit inside it. It does not turn the rest of your practice into an APP entity. Because the AML work and the transaction work overlap so heavily in a settlement file, the cleaner path is usually to apply Privacy-Act-standard handling across the whole matter, a practical choice, not a legal requirement.
A couple of points specific to your world:
- Identity verification is two separate things. In WA the binding instrument is the WA Participation Rules Version 7, effective 28 March 2024 on the ARNECC model. Rule 6.5.1 requires "reasonable steps" to verify identity; rule 6.5.2 lets you apply the Schedule 8 Verification of Identity Standard or verify some other way; rule 6.5.6 deems compliance with the Standard to "constitute the taking of reasonable steps". A safe harbour, not a mandate. AML customer due diligence is a separate obligation under AUSTRAC: similar documents, different regulators, one does not satisfy the other.
- Your retention clocks don't agree. A money record under s 50(1)(b) must be kept "not less than 6 years from the date on which the money was received" (Settlement Agents Regulations 1982 r 6F(1)(b)); evidence supporting an electronic lodgment, verification of identity included, for "at least seven years from the date of Lodgment" (WA Participation Rules v7 r 6.6); and APP 11.2 requires you to destroy what you no longer need, unless a law requires you to keep it. Which clock does your file-closing routine run?
- You concentrate high-value data. Identity documents plus trust-account and settlement-money details are exactly the dataset that causes serious harm if it leaks, which is why a data breach response plan matters for settlement practices in particular.
What's the privacy half most AML guidance skips?
Tranche 2 resources lead with the AML program, enrolment and customer checks. The privacy consequence is the overlooked half: the same customer checks you're building for AUSTRAC are, themselves, the activity the Privacy Act now regulates. For the detail on the documents involved, see Do conveyancers need a privacy policy in 2026? and AML Tranche 2 for conveyancers: the privacy half nobody mentions. The obligation is identical for WA settlement agents; only the label and your state licensing regime differ.
Common questions
Do WA settlement agents have to enrol with AUSTRAC?
If you provide the property-transfer designated service, yes. You have been a reporting entity since 31 March 2026. If you were already providing a designated service before 1 July 2026, Schedule 3 Part 4 item 12 of the AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024 fixes your enrolment date at 29 July 2026 outright, replacing the 28-day rule in s 51B(1). Item 12 fixes 29 July 2026 outright for the earlier cohort; a business that starts later falls under the ordinary s 51B(1) rule instead. Confirm your position with AUSTRAC.
Are the privacy rules different for WA settlement agents than for conveyancers?
No. The obligation is defined by the activity, not the professional label, so it is identical; only the title "settlement agent" and your Western Australian licensing regime differ.
Does my WA settlement agent licence already cover the Privacy Act?
No. Your Settlement Agents Act 1981 (WA) licensing, trust-account and conduct duties are separate and continue unchanged; the Privacy Act obligation applies on top, via s 6E(1A).
Does the $3 million small-business threshold still protect me?
Not for your AML/CTF activities. Section 6E(1A) applies the Act to those activities regardless of turnover. The s 6D small-business exemption can still cover the rest of your practice, but only if no limb of s 6D(4) applies, and s 6D(4)(a) runs one way: it asks whether the business "has had" turnover over $3,000,000 for a financial year that has ended, so one year above the line ends the exemption even if turnover later falls.
This is general information, not legal advice. Privaproof provides privacy tools and general information; it is not a law practice and does not provide legal advice, and it does not assess your AML/CTF obligations, which are administered by AUSTRAC. Sources: AUSTRAC, professional designated services; Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), s 6E(1A); OAIC, privacy guidance for reporting entities under the AML/CTF Act; Settlement Agents Act 1981 (WA); Settlement Agents Regulations 1982 (WA); WA Participation Rules Version 7; Consumer Protection WA, settlement agents and conveyancers.