- New research commissioned by Visibl found that 75.4% of businesses surveyed believe identity verification (VOI) checks alone satisfy their anti-money laundering (AML) obligations, despite VOI software being unfit for that purpose under Australia's new AML/CTF laws.
- Of businesses relying solely on VOI checks, 56.5% are skipping at least one legally required step; such as sanctions and PEP screening, beneficial ownership verification, or full KYC/KYB checks, meaning 42.6% of all surveyed businesses are operating on a false sense of compliance.
- Whilst 91.8% of businesses have appointed a Compliance Officer and 82% have completed a formal risk assessment, only 34.4% are genuinely compliant when governance and day-to-day practice are assessed together, revealing a 31-point gap against the 65.6% who feel confident they would pass an AUSTRAC review.
- Industry practitioners highlighted the core challenge as embedding compliance into daily workflows, with one accounting respondent admitting: It's time-consuming and honestly, I'm still not sure whether we fully comply.
- Visibl argues that the solution is not a better standalone verification tool, but a connected system where risk assessments, AML policy, and staff training work together — noting that time and cost remain the single biggest compliance challenge for 41% of businesses surveyed, particularly smaller firms.
Sydney, Australia: 16 September 2026
MEDIA RELEASE
Most verification software checks who a client is. It doesn't check whether they're a risk and new research shows accounting firms are missing the difference.
New research surveying small businesses finds three in four Australian accounting firms believe their identity verification checks satisfy their anti-money laundering obligations. Visibl warns that standalone verification software is leaving firms unknowingly non-compliant, weeks after the country's new AML/CTF (anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing) laws took effect.
SYDNEY, 16 September 2026 — New research commissioned by Australian AML compliance specialist Visibl has found that Australian accounting firms are widely relying on identity verification (VOI) software to meet obligations it was never built to cover, leaving many unknowingly exposed under the country's new anti-money laundering (AML) laws.
Australia's AML Readiness Report 2026, based on a survey of over 60 accounting, legal and real estate businesses (accountants make up the largest sample) and in-depth interviews with three industry practitioners, found 75.4% of businesses believe their VOI checks alone satisfy their AML obligations. They don't. VOI confirms a client's identity; it says nothing about whether that client, structure or transaction carries a money laundering risk. Of the businesses relying on VOI alone, 56.5% are skipping at least one other check the law requires; sanctions and PEP screening, beneficial ownership verification, or full Know Your Customer / Know Your Business. Across the whole sample, that's 42.6% of businesses surveyed operating on a false sense of compliance.
Visibl says the gap is being widened by how many firms have chosen to respond to the reforms: bolting a generic, standalone identity verification tool onto their existing process, rather than adopting a system built around risk.
"A verification tool can confirm someone is who they say they are. It can't tell you whether that person or entity is a politically exposed person, whether a trust's beneficial owners have been identified, or what a staff member should actually do when one of those checks comes back flagged," said Kaan Yuksel, Founder and Managing Director of Visibl and a certified AML compliance specialist.
"The policies themselves almost always comply with the law. The gap is between what the policy says and what's actually happening in practice, because a document check was never designed to fully risk rate customers or provide compliance workflows escalations. Everything AUSTRAC actually looks for sits outside that."
The report shows the same gap in the numbers: 91.8% of businesses have appointed a Compliance Officer, 82% have completed a formal risk assessment and 70.5% have a written AML/CTF program but only 34.4% are genuinely ready once governance and day-to-day practice are assessed together, a 31-point gap against the 65.6% who feel confident they'd pass an AUSTRAC review.
Jesselyn Dang, Business Transformation Manager at Accounting Firm HK Partners, who was interviewed for the report, said the difficulty for accountants is translating a compliance program into daily habit. "Accountants are used to things being black or white, but there's a fair degree of grey in tranche 2 compliance. Understanding the legislation is one thing, the real challenge is embedding it into daily workflows."
One accounting respondent to the survey put it more starkly: "It's time-consuming and honestly, I'm still not sure whether we fully comply."
Visibl argues the fix isn't a better verification tool, but a connected one where a firm's risk assessment, anti-money laundering policy and team training lives together guiding teams through the daily practices and customer verification. When staff are trained on what a flag means before they see one, decisions are well informed and action is recorded with the reasoning behind it. This is what the regulator expects, they don’t just want to see what action a business took, but understand the why behind it, and when policy and practice live in silos this becomes increasingly difficult to do, consuming a lot of time and adding risk.
Time and cost were named by 41% of all businesses surveyed as their single biggest compliance challenge, a pressure the report found sharpest among firms with fewer than 20 staff.
"There is a reason banks invest in large compliance teams: AML compliance is a specialised skill learned through daily practice," Yuksel said. "With tens of thousands of newly regulated entities, there are not enough specialists in Australia for every firm to hire one. Software has to help close that gap, not just tick a box at the front door."
The report concludes that twelve months from now, when the first annual AML/CTF compliance reports fall due, the industry will have a much clearer answer on compliance readiness, shining light less on whether firms want to comply, and more on whether they had the practical, connected support and systems to do it.
The full Australia's AML Readiness Report 2026 is available at visibl.com.au/Australia-AML-Readiness-Report.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Methodology: Australia's AML Readiness Report 2026 is based on a survey of 61 real estate, legal and accounting businesses across Australia (accountants: 46 of 61 respondents, 75%), fielded 31 July – 10 August 2026, plus in-depth interviews with three industry practitioners. Real estate and legal findings are directional given smaller sample size.
Interviews with Kaan Yuksel and, by arrangement, the practitioners quoted in this report are available on request.
Please cite as: Australia's AML Readiness Report 2026, commissioned by Visibl. The full report is available at visibl.com.au/Australia-AML-Readiness-Report.
About us:
ABOUT VISIBL
Visibl is an Australian AML/CTF compliance platform helping accoutants, law firms, real estate agencies and other regulated businesses manage their obligations under Australia's Tranche 2 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing reforms. Combining technology with certified AML specialists, Visibl provides compliance programs, customer verification, risk assessment, training and audit-ready reporting designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.
Contact details:
Lucy Allen
0435758509
[email protected]
