Caltury Resource
AUSTRAC Online enrolment walkthrough
For small AU firms entering AML/CTF Tranche 2 on 1 July 2026. Plain-English, screen-by-screen, field-by-field.
Before you start — documents and details to gather
- Australian Business Number (ABN). Verify it on ABN Lookup before you start. If your ABN is cancelled or the name on it differs from your trading name, fix that before enrolling.
- Australian Company Number (ACN) if applicable. Required if your reporting entity is a Pty Ltd or Ltd. Sole traders skip.
- Registered office address and principal place of business. These can be the same. PO box is not enough for principal place of business; use the street address.
- Two contact email addresses. Primary contact and alternate. AUSTRAC will send compliance correspondence here. Use addresses that survive staff turnover (info@ or compliance@), not a personal Gmail.
- Phone number with area code. Mobile is fine. AUSTRAC may call to verify the application.
- Names and roles of key personnel. AML/CTF Compliance Officer (named individual) and the senior managing official (usually the principal or director).
- Designated services list ready to tick. Know which designated services from sch.1 of the AML/CTF Act 2006 you will provide. For Tranche 2 firms this is usually one item (real estate buying or selling assistance; conveyancing of real estate; trust and company service provider; legal services involving specific transactions; or accounting services involving specific transactions).
- Beneficial owner details. For a Pty Ltd, names and residential addresses of every individual owning 25% or more (directly or indirectly).
- Identity documents for the applicant. AUSTRAC may verify the identity of the person submitting the form against an Australian passport, driver licence or Medicare card.
Screen 1 — Create your AUSTRAC Online account
Email address
What it asks: The email that will become your AUSTRAC Online username and the primary contact for the account.
What to enter: Use a role-based address that will not change if a staff member leaves (compliance@firmname.com.au is ideal).
Password
What it asks: A strong password for the account. Subject to AUSTRAC's password policy.
What to enter: Generate a 20+ character random password and store it in your password manager. Two-factor authentication is enforced separately.
Two-factor authentication setup
What it asks: AUSTRAC requires MFA on every account. Authenticator app or SMS.
What to enter: Use an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password) over SMS where possible.
Tip. The account holder does not have to be the AML/CTF Compliance Officer. Many small firms create the account in the principal's name and add the Compliance Officer as a separate user later.
Screen 2 — Reporting entity identification
Legal name of the reporting entity
What it asks: Your full legal name as it appears on the ABN register (or for a sole trader, your full personal legal name).
What to enter: Exact match to ABN Lookup. Mismatch is the most common cause of enrolment rejection.
Trading name(s)
What it asks: Any business names registered with ASIC under which you trade.
What to enter: List every active business name. Caltury's registered name 'Caltury' would go here, for example.
ABN
What it asks: Your Australian Business Number.
What to enter: 11 digits, no spaces.
ACN (if applicable)
What it asks: Australian Company Number if you are a registered company.
What to enter: 9 digits, no spaces. Sole traders leave blank.
Entity type
What it asks: Sole trader / partnership / Pty Ltd / Public company / Trust / Other.
What to enter: Pick the structure that matches your ABN registration.
Screen 3 — Addresses
Registered office address
What it asks: Your registered office (for companies) or principal residential address (for sole traders).
What to enter: Australian street address with postcode. Validation runs against the AddressFinder service inline.
Principal place of business
What it asks: Where you actually trade from.
What to enter: If the same as the registered office, tick the box; otherwise the street address. PO box alone is rejected.
Postal address
What it asks: Where you receive correspondence.
What to enter: PO box is fine here. If different from the registered office, untick the box and enter separately.
Screen 4 — Contact details
Primary contact name and role
What it asks: Who AUSTRAC should speak to about the enrolment.
What to enter: Usually the principal or AML/CTF Compliance Officer.
Primary contact phone
What it asks: Daytime phone number with area code.
What to enter: Mobile or business landline. Used for verification calls.
Primary contact email
What it asks: Where AUSTRAC sends formal correspondence.
What to enter: Role-based email (compliance@ or info@), not personal.
Alternate contact
What it asks: Backup contact if the primary is unavailable.
What to enter: Another principal or the Compliance Officer if the primary is the director.
Screen 5 — Designated services
Select the designated services you will provide
What it asks: Tick every designated service from sch.1 of the AML/CTF Act 2006 that your firm provides.
What to enter: Real estate agents typically tick the 'assistance with buying or selling real estate' item. Conveyancers typically tick the same item plus, where they provide additional services, the relevant items for those. Accountants and lawyers tick items corresponding to the specific transaction types they assist with (managing client money, forming companies or trusts, buying or selling real estate or businesses, etc.).
Date the designated services commence
What it asks: When you will start providing designated services as a reporting entity.
What to enter: For Tranche 2 firms enrolling before commencement, enter 1 July 2026. For firms enrolling after commencement, enter the date you actually started.
Expected annual transaction volume
What it asks: An estimate of how many designated services you expect to provide per year.
What to enter: A good-faith estimate is fine. Conveyancers often enter a number like '120 matters per year'. AUSTRAC uses this for risk profiling, not as a binding commitment.
Tip. If you are unsure whether a service is designated, the AUSTRAC published guidance for your industry is the best primary source. Better to over-disclose at enrolment than to enrol narrowly and have to amend later.
Screen 6 — Key personnel
Senior managing official
What it asks: The most senior person responsible for the firm.
What to enter: For a Pty Ltd, usually the managing director. For a sole trader, the principal.
AML/CTF Compliance Officer
What it asks: The named individual responsible for AML/CTF compliance day to day.
What to enter: Must be a real person, not 'the Compliance Team'. For very small firms this is often the principal themselves; that is permitted.
Compliance Officer contact email
What it asks: Direct contact for the Compliance Officer.
What to enter: Their direct email, not a shared inbox.
Screen 7 — Beneficial owners
Beneficial owner details
What it asks: Every individual who ultimately owns or controls 25% or more of the reporting entity.
What to enter: Full name, date of birth and residential address for each. For a sole trader, the sole trader is the only beneficial owner. For a single-director, single-shareholder Pty Ltd, the director is usually the only beneficial owner.
Senior managing official fallback
What it asks: If no individual meets the 25% threshold, name the senior managing official.
What to enter: Triggers automatically if no beneficial owner is identified. Re-uses the data from Screen 6.
Screen 8 — Declarations and submission
Declaration of accuracy
What it asks: Confirmation that the information provided is true and complete.
What to enter: Tick. Read it carefully; this is a statutory declaration.
Authorised submitter name
What it asks: The name of the person submitting the form on behalf of the reporting entity.
What to enter: Your own name if you are the principal. If submitting on behalf of someone else, you need written authority on file.
Submit
What it asks: Final submission to AUSTRAC.
What to enter: Click. Print or save the on-screen receipt. AUSTRAC will email an acknowledgement within a few minutes.
Common errors that delay processing
- · ABN entered without the registered legal name matching ABN Lookup exactly. Fix the ABN record first.
- · PO box entered for principal place of business. Use the street address.
- · Compliance Officer field filled with a role name ('Compliance Team') rather than a named individual.
- · Beneficial owner section skipped because the entity is small. Even single-director companies must list the director as the beneficial owner.
- · Designated services screen left empty because the firm is unsure. Tick at least one and amend later if needed; an empty form will be rejected.
After you submit
- · AUSTRAC issues a Reporting Entity (RE) number. Save it; you will need it on every report (SMR, TTR, IFTI, ACR) and on every login.
- · Your AUSTRAC Online account becomes the channel for every AML/CTF submission and for receiving compliance correspondence.
- · Your first Annual Compliance Report (ACR) is due in March of the year following enrolment; the form opens earlier and can be drafted in advance.
- · Diary the ACR deadline now. Late lodgement is one of the most common AUSTRAC enforcement triggers.
- · Within 14 days of enrolment, you should also have your AML/CTF Program (Part A and Part B) finalised and approved by senior management. Refer to /resources/aml-program-template for the structure.