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An Australian identity-verification start-up is helping businesses across the country comply with anti-money laundering regulations with streamlined digital verification solutions.
A Brisbane-founded anti-money laundering screening service has launched a new identity-verification solution that aims to assist Australian businesses navigate the Tranche 2 anti-money laundering reforms.
Founded by brothers Luke and Jason Ford, the company offers direct document verification against government-held records, with API integration for software platforms and a no-code dashboard for businesses.
Inspired by expensive onboarding fees and complex implementation, VeroID aims to make reliable identity checks more accessible, practical and straightforward for businesses of all sizes.
VeroID is bringing a digital-first document-verification solution to that challenge, supporting the identity-verification component of know-your-customer (KYC) processes.
The rise of paperless document verification is highlighted through new data from the Australian government, which shows a record number of Australians have embraced digital Commonwealth statutory declarations available through myGov.
VeroID is also working to make the capability available through integration with the software platforms businesses already use.
As Australians adjust to the Tranche 2 anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) reforms, lawyers, conveyancers, accountants and other newly regulated businesses face the challenge of implementing practical customer due diligence processes while maintaining a seamless client experience.
Lawyers Weekly spoke with VeroID co-founder Luke Ford about making identity verification more accessible, assisting businesses navigate their compliance obligations and ensuring lawyers can use AI confidently while maintaining professional standards and accountability.
Making identity verification accessible
Ford recognised why VeroID is different from other identity-verification providers, mentioning that the service is much more affordable and more accessible to small firms and software teams that may typically struggle to fund verification tools.
“VeroID checks identity documents with the document issuer or official record holder, in real time, rather than relying on a reseller,” Ford said.
“I started it after being quoted an $8,000 onboarding fee, plus ongoing and per-check costs, just to add identity verification to a lending platform I was building.
“That price puts proper verification out of reach for a lot of small firms and software teams.
“We built VeroID to be Australian-first and simple to use, whatever the size of the business. Software platforms can build it into the onboarding flows their customers already use through our API, with open developer documentation at docs.veroid.com.au.
“But a lot of law firms, conveyancers and accountants don’t have a developer, so they can log in to the VeroID dashboard and run identity checks straight from there, with no code or integration needed.”
Preparing for Tranche 2 and responsible AI usage
As Australian businesses prepare for the Tranche 2 reforms, Ford noted that accessible identity verification is becoming increasingly important in helping newly regulated industries meet their compliance obligations.
“Tranche 2 brings lawyers, conveyancers, accountants and real estate agents into the AML/CTF regime, which means customer due diligence becomes part of everyday practice,” Ford said.
“For many smaller firms, this is new territory. The practical challenge is turning the rules into something staff can actually do during onboarding without slowing down the client experience.
“Identity verification is one part of a broader customer due diligence process, and the firms that make that step consistent and well recorded early will find the rest much easier to manage.”
Ford also highlighted ways lawyers can use AI confidently while ensuring that it is only an assistant and not a decision-maker.
“Treat AI as an assistant, not the decision maker,” Ford said.
“It is useful for speeding up drafting, research and admin, but the lawyer still owns the output, so anything going to a client or a court needs to be checked against primary sources.
“Firms should know which tools they are using, where client data goes, and keep a clear record of what was checked and by whom.
“The same principle applies to compliance: automate the repetitive steps, but make sure every result can be traced back to an authoritative source.
“That is why we check identity documents with the issuing agency or official record holder rather than relying on a guess from a model.”
