Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
While sole practitioners will be understandably trepidatious about the looming AML/CTF reforms, coming into effect in July, one member body is confident in lawyers’ capacity to navigate the shifting sands.
In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Law Society of NSW head of regulatory policy and strategy Bobbie Wan (pictured), who will be speaking at the third iteration of AML Edge, being hosted in Sydney on 19 March and in Melbourne on 26 March, reflected on the pain points facing practitioners across the nation’s most populous state ahead of the looming reforms.
Many practitioners, Wan said, are understandably worried about the potential cost of compliance, not just for their practice’s continued viability but also for costs that may ultimately be borne by clients.
“Acting in your client’s best interest is a fundamental part of what we do, so we are sensitive to all things that might affect a client’s matter,” she said.
“Another area is regulatory burden. In NSW, approximately 82 per cent of legal practices are sole practices, meaning that, in the vast majority of law firms in this state, there is only one principal practitioner. In terms of practical AML/CTF compliance, this means that, in most cases, there will only be one person exercising the responsibilities of the governing body and the AML compliance officer.”
Combine this, she continued, with the day-to-day legal practice management responsibilities required of a principal, “and it can feel daunting”.
This is why the Law Society of NSW is preparing additional guidance to help small law firms with developing their AML compliance programs, Wan said.
This all said, Wan is “confident” that the NSW profession is “up to the challenge” of the AML/CTF regime.
However, she added, “the key to mitigating money laundering and terrorism financing risk is understanding how practices can be taken advantage of by a money launderer”.
“I don’t think many of my colleagues are used to thinking like a money launderer!”
“Recognising red flags and anticipating how they might materialise in the context of legal practice is something we need to get better at as a whole profession,” she said.
When asked how well lawyers across the state are interpreting the looming risks of Tranche 2, Wan said that in her experience, people are called to the legal profession because they have an ingrained sense of, and devotion to, the administration of justice and the rule of law.
Most practitioners, she said, “are keen to take reasonable steps to ensure the practices they have worked hard to grow and protect are not unwittingly used for money laundering and other illicit activities”.
“While there is a lot to get on top of, we hope that resources provided by AUSTRAC, the Law Society of NSW, and the Law Council of Australia will assist in the legal profession being ready for 1 July,” she said.
To buy tickets to AML Edge 2026, click here.
To view the agenda for the Sydney and Melbourne events, click here.
To see the full list of speakers for both events, click here.
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of professional services (including Lawyers Weekly, HR Leader, Accountants Daily, and Accounting Times). He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
You can email Jerome at:
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Lawyers Weekly a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Lawyers Weekly as a preferred news source.
