In 2006, Australia signed a global agreement with the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) to implement ‘tranche 2’ global anti-money laundering (AML) rules pertaining to non-financial assets (including property). The rules were to apply to real estate gatekeepers like realtors, accountants and lawyers.
After stakeholder consultations in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2017, the AML rules were continuously postponed because of industry backlash over ‘compliance costs’ and ‘regulatory burden’.
The end result is that Australia now has one of the loosest AML regimes in the world and our property has become a magnet for dirty foreign money.
