When is the enrolment deadline?

Enrol within 28 days of first providing a designated service (s 51B). For a business already providing the service on 1 July 2026, that was 29 July 2026.

Do trust and company service providers need to enrol with AUSTRAC?

The AML/CTF Tranche 2 test for trust and company service providers, from the designated-service tables in section 6 of the AML/CTF Act and AUSTRAC's sector guidance.

Short answer: Yes

Creating or restructuring companies and trusts, selling shelf companies, acting as or arranging nominee directors, secretaries, trustees or shareholders, and providing a registered office address are designated services under table 6, items 5 to 9 of section 6 of the AML/CTF Act. A business that provides these services must enrol within 28 days of first providing one.

The designated services that catch trust and company service providers

AML/CTF Act reference	Service	Customer for due diligence
s 6 table 6 items 5–9	Selling shelf companies; creating or restructuring companies and trusts; acting as, or arranging for someone to act as, a director, secretary, trustee, partner or corporate power of attorney; acting as a nominee shareholder; providing a registered office or principal place of business address	Varies: for company creation, the proposed beneficial owners and directors; for an express trust, the trustee, settlor and beneficiaries; for nominee and officer services, the nominator

AUSTRAC's test for table 6 is whether the provider directly advances the transaction. Advice that only influences a transaction is not caught; the service starts when the provider acts on instructions and a transaction exists (for a private sale, once a price is agreed).

Carve-outs and exemptions to check

Lawyers and accountants who provide the same services are caught by the same items; the obligation follows the service, not the job title.

Enrolment deadlines and what follows

Enrol within 28 days of first providing a designated service (s 51B). For a business already providing the service on 1 July 2026, that was 29 July 2026.
Each day a designated service is provided while unenrolled can be a separate contravention (s 51B(2C)).
Notify AUSTRAC of changes to enrolment details within 14 days (s 51F, Rules r 3-9), including adding a new designated service.
Designate an AML/CTF compliance officer within 28 days of first providing a designated service (s 26K) and notify AUSTRAC within 14 days (s 26M). For newly regulated businesses the transitional deadline was the later of 29 July 2026 or 14 days after enrolling (Transitional Rules s 19).

Enrolment is the first step, not the last

An enrolled business must also have an AML/CTF program before it provides a designated service: an ML/TF risk assessment plus AML/CTF policies covering customer due diligence, reporting (suspicious matters within 3 business days, threshold transactions of $10,000 or more in cash within 10 business days), record keeping, personnel due diligence, training and governance. The first annual compliance report covers 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 and is due by 30 September 2027.

AUSTRAC has not published a starter kit for trust and company service providers. A TCSP has to build its ML/TF risk assessment and policies without one.

If you should be enrolled and are not

AUSTRAC can issue an infringement notice of $21,840 for a company or $4,368 for an individual per contravention (60 or 12 penalty units at $364), or seek a civil penalty of up to $36.4M (body corporate) or $7.28M (individual) per contravention. Since 28 August 2026 AUSTRAC has been issuing section 167 notices to businesses that appear to provide designated services without enrolling.

Check your AML/CTF programUpload the AML/CTF program you already have and get a gap score against the Tranche 2 requirements of the Act and Rules. Personal information is removed before analysis.Run the compliance journeyAnswer a short questionnaire about your business and get the obligations that apply to you, with the reason each one applies.

Questions

Do trust and company service providers need to enrol with AUSTRAC?: Yes. Creating or restructuring companies and trusts, selling shelf companies, acting as or arranging nominee directors, secretaries, trustees or shareholders, and providing a registered office address are designated services under table 6, items 5 to 9 of section 6 of the AML/CTF Act. A business that provides these services must enrol within 28 days of first providing one.
When is the enrolment deadline?: Enrol within 28 days of first providing a designated service (s 51B). For a business already providing the service on 1 July 2026, that was 29 July 2026.
Is there a starter kit for trust and company service providers?: AUSTRAC has not published a starter kit for trust and company service providers. A TCSP has to build its ML/TF risk assessment and policies without one.

Sources

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.