Who pays for AML compliance: your agency or your clients?
A new pricing model lets buyers and sellers pay for their own identity checks. The legal obligation under the AML/CTF Act stays with your agency regardless.
A new pricing model in the AML compliance market passes identity check costs directly to buyers and sellers.
But the legal obligation under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 never moves.
Where the question is coming from
As AML compliance tool pricing has become more visible in 2026, real estate agencies are comparing their options.
The typical model is familiar: your agency pays for a compliance platform, either as a monthly subscription or per identity verification check.
A newer model has started appearing in the market. Instead of your agency bearing the check cost, the buyer or seller pays for their own verification via a payment link, similar to how a conveyancing firm passes search costs to the client.
At a glance, this looks like a significant cost shift for agencies operating on thin margins.
What the law says about responsibility
The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 places obligations on the reporting entity — the agency or individual providing the designated service.
For real estate, the designated service is brokering the purchase, sale, or transfer of property.
That means your agency is legally required to:
- Conduct customer due diligence (CDD) before providing a designated service
- Verify your clients' identities and assess their risk profiles
- Screen clients against DFAT sanctions lists and identify politically exposed persons (PEPs) as part of risk-based CDD
- Maintain CDD records for at least seven years
- Report suspicious matters within required timeframes
These obligations do not attach to who pays for the check.
They attach to who provides the designated service.
The three pricing models now in the market
Per-check (agency pays): Your agency pays a fee each time you run an identity verification. Costs scale with your transaction volume. Low base cost, no fixed monthly commitment.
Flat-rate subscription (agency pays): Your agency pays a fixed monthly fee covering unlimited client verifications and typically the full compliance infrastructure — program documentation, record keeping, ongoing monitoring. Predictable cost regardless of volume.
Customer-pays: Your agency pays a low platform or user fee. The buyer or seller pays for their own identity verification via a secure payment link your agency sends them. Check costs are passed to transaction parties rather than absorbed by the agency.
The customer-pays model draws on a familiar pattern. Conveyancing searches, title insurance, and building and pest inspections are routinely billed to clients rather than absorbed by the agency. Applying the same logic to AML identity checks has a certain operational appeal.
What the customer-pays model does not change
Passing the check cost to the client does not transfer the legal obligation.
The obligation to conduct CDD, to review the result, and to take appropriate action stays with your agency.
This has practical implications:
- If a client refuses to pay, your agency still needs to complete CDD before providing a designated service. There is no legal carve-out for a client declining to participate.
- If a check produces a result requiring further action, the decision and documentation obligation fall on your agency, not the client.
- Your agency remains the reporting entity for any Suspicious Matter Reports or Threshold Transaction Reports.
- Your agency must maintain records for the required seven-year period, regardless of who paid for the original check.
Under the Act, a body corporate can face penalties of up to A$33,000,000 per contravention for non-compliance. For an individual, up to A$6,600,000 per contravention (AML/CTF Act 2006, s 175).
Those penalties land on the reporting entity — not on whichever party paid for the identity check.
Three questions to ask before choosing a model
1. What happens if the client does not pay?
Under any model, CDD is mandatory before providing a designated service. If a client refuses to pay for their own check, your agency cannot simply proceed without one. Understand the workflow for this scenario before committing to a customer-pays platform. A compliance gap created by a non-paying client is your problem, not the tool provider's.
2. Does the platform cover more than identity verification?
CDD is one obligation among many. Your agency also needs an AML/CTF program, a risk assessment, sanctions screening, record keeping, ongoing monitoring, and annual compliance reporting. A tool covering only the identity check layer leaves the rest of the compliance infrastructure to you. Factor in the cost and effort to fill those gaps separately.
3. What is the total annual cost at your transaction volume?
At typical agency transaction volumes, flat-rate subscriptions are usually cheaper per check than per-transaction pricing. At very low volumes, per-check or customer-pays models can reduce monthly spend. Run the maths against your actual transaction profile, not a hypothetical one. Our post on per-check vs flat-rate pricing covers this calculation in detail.
What the choice comes down to
The pricing model is a commercial decision.
The compliance outcome depends on what your agency does with the tool — whether it conducts CDD on every required client, follows its program, and maintains adequate records.
A well-chosen pricing model reduces your out-of-pocket cost. It does not reduce your legal exposure.
Whatever model you evaluate, confirm it covers the full compliance requirement: program documentation, customer due diligence, screening, record keeping, and reporting — not just the identity verification step.
AML Simple covers the full compliance infrastructure: AML/CTF program generation, CDD workflows, DFAT sanctions screening, PEP screening, 7-year record keeping, and annual compliance reporting. Paid plans are free until 1 July 2026.
This post is general information about obligations under the AML/CTF Act 2006. It is not legal or compliance advice. Consult a qualified AML/CTF compliance professional for advice specific to your agency's circumstances.