Advice-only or research-only buyers agent: are you caught by AML and privacy?
It depends on what you actually do. Brokering the purchase of a specific property for a fee is the caught activity, and a buyers agency retained to acquire property is in scope from 1 July 2026. A genuinely advice-only service that never finds property and never negotiates for a commission may fall outside it. This is fact-specific, so confirm your own position rather than assuming either way.
By Jon Oates, Founder of Privaproof · Last updated
General information , document templates and tools you tailor, not legal advice. Privaproof is not a law practice and does not assess your AML/CTF obligations, which are administered by AUSTRAC.
What the caught activity actually is
The obligation does not attach to the label on your business card. It attaches to a function. Brokering the purchase or transfer of real estate for a buyer, in the course of carrying on a business, is a designated service under the AML/CTF Act (Table 5 item 1, AML/CTF Act s 6(5A)). Providing that service is what makes you an AUSTRAC reporting entity from 1 July 2026.
The item does not define "broker". Its ordinary meaning is acting as an intermediary or agent for another person for consideration, which on a normal buyers-agency engagement is met once you are retained to acquire a property for the client, whether or not you personally sit at the negotiating table. ⚠️ How far that reaches a pure search-and-sourcing service is the open question, and it is the one this page exists to be honest about: we have seen the reading that seeking out a party for your client to transact with, for a commission, is itself broking, but we have not pinned that to a primary source . So treat finding or identifying a specific property for a fee as likely caught, and confirm rather than assume. Read: are buyers agents caught by AML Tranche 2?
Where "advice-only" might land differently
Some operators describe themselves as advice-only, research-only or education-only. Think of a service that produces a suburb report, a market briefing or a due-diligence checklist, charges a flat fee for that document, and stops there: it never shortlists a specific property, never inspects or bids on the client's behalf, and never takes a commission on a purchase.
A service structured that way may fall outside the brokering definition, because it is not seeking to find a person to transact with for a commission and is not finding or identifying a property to buy. AUSTRAC does not expressly address advice-only buyers agents, so this is not a bright line, and it is one we cannot resolve for you. ** Whether a given advice-only model sits inside or outside the designated service is fact-specific and turns on the exact scope of what you deliver and how you are paid. Confirm your position with AUSTRAC or a qualified adviser before relying on any carve-out.
What we can say honestly is the shape of the work. A buyers agency retained to find property, negotiate, and be paid on or toward a purchase is doing the caught activity on any reading of the item. A genuinely advice-only service is a different shape, and describing yourself as advice-only does not put you outside the Act if the substance of what you do is still finding or brokering a purchase.
If you are caught: the privacy half switches on too
If your service is a designated service, becoming a reporting entity does more than create AML duties. Via Privacy Act s 6E(1A), the client-identity data you collect for those AML checks comes under the Australian Privacy Principles regardless of the A$3 million small-business exemption. That is the identity, verification and customer-due-diligence data only, not your whole buyer CRM, newsletter list or property alerts, which stay outside this route unless a separate trigger applies. Read: does the Privacy Act apply to buyers agents under $3 million? · Read: does becoming a reporting entity trigger the Privacy Act?
Two things follow from that. First, the AML question and the privacy question are separate: AUSTRAC administers the designated-service and reporting-entity rules, and we do not assess those for you. Second, if you conclude you are caught, the privacy documents are the half an AML pack leaves out, and they are what Privaproof is built for.
The honest bottom line
Do not let a job title decide this. If you find, identify or negotiate the purchase of a specific property for a client for a fee, you are very likely a reporting entity from 1 July 2026, and s 6E(1A) then reaches your client-ID data. If you genuinely only advise, without ever finding property or taking a purchase commission, you may sit outside brokering, but that is a fact-specific call you should confirm rather than assume. Get the AML side settled first, because it decides whether the privacy obligations below apply to you at all. Read the cornerstone: privacy compliance for Australian buyers agents.
Common questions
I only give research and advice, no property search. Am I exempt from AML?
Possibly, but not automatically. If your service never finds or identifies a specific property, never negotiates a purchase and takes no brokering commission, it may fall outside the designated service. AUSTRAC does not expressly address advice-only buyers agents, so this is fact-specific. Confirm your own position with AUSTRAC or a qualified adviser before relying on it.
Does calling myself "advice-only" keep me out of the Privacy Act?
Not on its own. The trigger is the substance of what you do, not the label. If the work still amounts to finding or brokering a purchase for a fee, you are likely caught, and s 6E(1A) then applies the Australian Privacy Principles to the client-ID data you collect for AML. The name of the service does not change that.
If I am advice-only and outside AML, do I have no privacy obligations at all?
Not necessarily. The s 6E(1A) route only switches the Privacy Act on for AML customer-due-diligence data. If you are not a reporting entity, that route does not apply, but you could still be inside the Privacy Act through a different trigger, such as turning over more than A$3 million. Most boutique operators sit under that threshold, but check it against your own numbers.
Where do I get a definitive answer on whether I am caught?
From AUSTRAC or a qualified adviser, based on the specifics of your service and fee structure. Privaproof does not assess AML/CTF obligations, which are AUSTRAC's domain. We cover the privacy half that applies once you know you are caught, kept current as the law changes.
This is general information and document templates you tailor to your own business, not legal advice. Privaproof is not a law practice and does not provide legal advice. This page does not assess your obligations under the AML/CTF Act itself, which are administered by AUSTRAC. Privaproof's buyers-agent documents are self-authored and are not independently reviewed by a solicitor. The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and related guidance change over time, so check you are working from a current version. For advice on your specific circumstances, consult a qualified Australian legal practitioner.