Property practice in transition: Preparing for 2027 and beyond
AML/CTF is changing property practice, and that’s only part of the picture.
Australian property lawyers and conveyancers are heading into 2027 with more to manage.
New AML/CTF obligations have changed how firms approach client identification, risk and source of funds. Cross-border matters bring another set of considerations around ownership structures, international payments, FX and settlement. All while firms are operating in a property market where transaction volumes and margins remain under pressure.
The challenge now is not simply keeping up with the changes.
It’s working out how to manage them without making every matter slower, harder or more expensive to run.
Future-proofing your practice for 2027 and beyond looks at what this means in practice, and where better processes can help firms manage risk, reduce unnecessary administration and create a better experience for clients.
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What does a better approach look like?
When an international client walks through the door, does that automatically make the matter high risk?
Not necessarily.
A client based overseas with transparent ownership and independently verifiable funds may present less risk than a domestic client with an opaque structure or unexplained third-party funding.
The real question is whether your firm has a consistent way to identify what actually makes the client or matter higher risk and apply the right level of due diligence.
Then there is the movement of money itself.
Currency conversion, banking cut-off times, beneficiary details, intermediary institutions and receiving-bank checks can all affect an international settlement. When those questions aren’t considered until the end, they can quickly become the lawyer’s problem too.
Developed with insights from international payments and foreign exchange provider Send Payments, this white paper looks at how firms can get ahead of these issues.
Download the white paper to explore:
- How to take a practical, risk-based approach to AML/CTF.
- What to consider when dealing with international clients, trusts and complex ownership structures.
- How to approach source of funds and source of wealth.
- Where international payments can create risk, delays and unexpected costs.
- Why payment requirements should be discussed well before settlement.
- How technology and specialist partners can reduce unnecessary administration.
- Where cross-border property work could create a commercial opportunity for your practice.
Don’t just add another compliance process.
The firms best prepared for 2027 will be the ones that can make compliance part of the way they work — while finding smarter ways to manage increasingly complex transactions.
For firms handling international property matters, that also means knowing how money will move, identifying problems earlier and giving clients greater certainty around the process.
Get the white paper and see what your practice should be thinking about now.
Download the white paper
Download the white paper