Are buyers agents caught by AML Tranche 2? The designated service explained
Very likely, yes. Brokering the sale, purchase or transfer of real estate on behalf of a buyer is a "designated service" under the AML/CTF Act, in those statutory words. So if you broker a property purchase for a fee, you become an AUSTRAC reporting entity from 1 July 2026, which then switches on the Privacy Act for the client-identity data you collect. Whether a search-only or advice-only service amounts to brokering is fact-specific.
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 a "designated service" is
AML Tranche 2 works by listing specific "designated services". Provide one of them in the course of carrying on a business, and you are a reporting entity with anti-money-laundering obligations. You are not caught because of your job title or your industry. You are caught because of a particular activity you perform.
For a buyers agent, the relevant activity is brokering the sale, purchase or transfer of real estate on behalf of a buyer (Table 5 item 1, AML/CTF Act s 6(5A)). That is the designated service. The point that trips people up is the word "broker", which the Act does not define in the item itself. The ordinary meaning is acting as an intermediary or agent for another person for consideration, which on most buyers-agency engagements is met well before anyone sits at a negotiating table, because you are engaged to act for the buyer in acquiring a property. How far that reaches a pure search-and-shortlist service is not something we can settle for you .
The Act names the buyer, not just the seller
This is not an inference we are stretching to fit buyers agents. The designated service is defined as "brokering the sale, purchase or transfer of real estate on behalf of a buyer, seller, transferee or transferor in the course of carrying on a business" (Table 5 item 1, AML/CTF Act s 6(5A)). Both "purchase" and "on behalf of a buyer" appear in the statutory words themselves, so acting for the buying side is not an edge case someone has read into the regime. It is in the definition.
Two things follow that are easy to miss. There is no monetary threshold in the item: the only qualifier is "in the course of carrying on a business". And the same item makes an agency brokering a sale answerable for two customers, the seller and the buyer, which is why a firm that runs its checks on one side only has done half the job.
When the obligation starts: at the mandate, not at settlement
The trigger is earlier than most people expect. You start providing the designated service to your buyer-client when the agreement to find or identify a property is signed, that is, at the buyer's-agency or mandate agreement, before any property has been found. You do not wait until a purchase completes.
There is a two-sided element as well. You can also become a provider to the seller or transferor side once a transaction is reasonably expected to proceed, so both the buyer and the seller can be your "customer" for AML purposes. The practical takeaway is simple: the compliance clock starts at the front of the engagement.
Enrolment with AUSTRAC is due around 29 July 2026 for firms already operating on 1 July 2026, or within 28 days of first providing a designated service. Confirm your own firm's exact date with AUSTRAC.
Why buyers agents are the cleanest fit
A mixed sales-and-rentals agency is only partly caught, because property management and residential leasing are not designated services. A buyers agent has no such shelter. Finding or identifying a property to buy, and negotiating the purchase, is the whole of the work, so close to all of what a boutique buyers agent does is the caught activity. That is a structural consequence of how the designated service is scoped, not a sentence AUSTRAC prints: the list covers broking, not leasing, and a pure buy-side broker has no leasing side to sit outside it.
The advice-only question is fact-specific
If your service genuinely never finds or identifies a specific property and never negotiates the transaction, only advising or educating, you may fall outside the brokering definition. But that is a narrow position, and it turns on what you actually do rather than what you call yourself. A buyers agency engaged to acquire a property for a client is doing the caught activity on any reading. This is fact-specific, so confirm your own position rather than assuming you are exempt in either direction. Read: advice-only or research-only buyers agent, are you caught?
Why this matters for privacy, not just AML
Being a reporting entity is an AUSTRAC obligation. The reason it lands on this site is the knock-on effect. Once you are a reporting entity, Privacy Act s 6E(1A) brings the identity and customer-due-diligence data you collect for AML under the Australian Privacy Principles, regardless of the A$3 million small-business exemption. Your AML pack handles the checks themselves. It does not give you the privacy policy, collection notice, breach plan and retention schedule the same trigger now expects.
That is scope-limited on purpose. s 6E(1A) reaches the AML/KYC identity data, not your general buyer CRM, your newsletter list or your property alerts. Those stay under the small-business exemption unless a separate trigger applies. Read: does becoming an AML reporting entity trigger the Privacy Act?
A note on penalties
You will see large AML/CTF penalty figures quoted. Those are ceilings set by AUSTRAC, and they are a separate regime from the Privacy Act. Privaproof does not assess your AML/CTF obligations or your exposure under them, which is AUSTRAC's domain. We cover the privacy half only, where penalties are also ceilings and most matters resolve with no fine. The point of getting this right is not fear of a maximum fine, it is having the client-facing privacy documents the change now expects.
Common questions
Do I have to actually negotiate a purchase to be caught?
Probably not. The item catches brokering the purchase on behalf of a buyer, and a firm engaged to act for the buyer in acquiring a property is doing that whether or not it personally runs the negotiation. Where an engagement is search-only and the client transacts entirely on their own account, it is fact-specific and worth confirming rather than assuming either way.
When exactly does the obligation start?
At the front of the engagement. You start providing the designated service to your buyer-client when the agreement to find or identify a property is signed, before any property is found, not when the purchase settles. Enrolment is generally due around 29 July 2026 for firms already operating on 1 July 2026.
I only advise buyers, I never find or negotiate. Am I exempt?
Possibly, but do not assume it. A service that genuinely never finds or identifies a specific property and never negotiates may fall outside brokering, but this is fact-specific and turns on what you actually do. A buyers agency retained to acquire property is doing the caught activity on any reading, so confirm your own position before relying on an advice-only carve-out.
Does being caught put my whole business under the Privacy Act?
No. Becoming a reporting entity switches on Privacy Act s 6E(1A) for the AML/KYC identity data you collect, not for your general buyer CRM, marketing list or web enquiries. The privacy obligation is targeted to that customer-due-diligence data. Read: does the Privacy Act apply to buyers agents under $3 million?
Is Privaproof telling me whether I am an AML reporting entity?
No. Whether you provide a designated service is an AML/CTF question administered by AUSTRAC, and their free starter kit is the place to work through it. Privaproof covers only the privacy documents that follow once you are caught.
Read the cornerstone: Privacy compliance for Australian buyers agents. Related: does the Privacy Act apply to buyers agents under $3 million? · does becoming an AML reporting entity trigger the Privacy Act? · VOI and source-of-funds: the privacy rules for identity checks
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, including whether you provide a designated service, 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), the AML/CTF Act 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.