I started providing a designated service after 1 July 2026 — do I still need to enrol by 29 July 2026?

No. The 29 July 2026 date only ever applied to businesses that were already providing a designated service on 1 July 2026, and that date has passed. If you started after 1 July, you have 28 days from the date you started to enrol with AUSTRAC — this rule applies on an ongoing basis, not just around the Tranche 2 rollout.

What counts as the date I 'started' providing a designated service?

The date you first actually provide a designated service to a client — not the date you registered your business, decided to offer the service, or signed your first engagement letter if no service has been delivered yet. This timing is separate from the compliance officer notification obligation, for which the standard trigger is the officer's appointment.

Does the 28-day rule ever expire?

No. Unlike 29 July 2026, which was a single fixed date tied to the Tranche 2 rollout, the 28-day rule is a standing provision. It applies to any business that starts providing a designated service at any point in the future — next month, next year, or years from now.

What happens if I miss my 28-day enrolment window?

Operating a designated service without enrolment is a contravention of the AML/CTF Act 2006, the same as missing the 29 July 2026 deadline was for existing businesses. Daily penalties accrue: $21,840 per day for bodies corporate (60 penalty units × $364) and $4,368 per day for individuals (12 penalty units × $364).

Updated August 2026

Field Guide · Enrolment Rules

Started after 1 July 2026? You have 28 days to enrol — not 29 July.

The 29 July 2026 enrolment deadline has passed — it only ever applied to businesses already providing a designated service on 1 July 2026. If you start providing one on any other date, including today, you have 28 days from that date to enrol. It's a standing rule, not a deadline that expires.

Check if you're in scope →See worked examples

29 Jul
Old deadline — passed: 28 days
New-entrant window: Ongoing
No expiry on this rule

In this guide

Which rule applies to you Worked examples The legal basis Frequently asked questions

I. Which Rule Applies to You

Two triggers, not one universal deadline

29 July 2026 gets cited everywhere as *the* AUSTRAC enrolment deadline. It was never that simple.

f you were already providing a designated service — legal work connected to property or client money, accounting for trusts, real estate transactions, dealing in precious metals above the threshold, and similar — on 1 July 2026, the 29 July 2026 date applied to you. That date has now passed. If you were not yet providing that service on 1 July 2026, 29 July never applied to you at all. Instead, from the day you start providing a designated service, you have 28 days to enrol with AUSTRAC. That window opens the moment you start — whenever that is, this year or in ten years — and it is the only enrolment clock that matters for anyone who wasn’t already operating before Tranche 2 began.

II. Worked Examples

Worked examples

Business operating before Tranche 2 began

Started providing the service

Already providing the service on 1 July 2026

Enrol by

29 July 2026 — this date has passed

If not yet enrolled, you are non-compliant now, not approaching a deadline. See the full Tranche 2 deadline breakdown for what that means and what to do immediately.

New entrant — worked example

Started providing the service

First provides a designated service on 15 August 2026

Enrol by

12 September 2026 (start date + 28 days)

The 29 July 2026 date is irrelevant here — it never applied to this business, because it wasn't providing the service on 1 July 2026.

New entrant — later worked example

Started providing the service

First provides a designated service on 20 January 2027

Enrol by

17 February 2027 (start date + 28 days)

Same formula, different date — this rule doesn't have an expiry. It applies exactly the same way whether the start date is next month or several years from now.

III. The Legal Basis

Same enrolment mechanism, different deadline math

Both tracks enrol through the same AUSTRAC process — only the date calculation differs.

nrolment happens through AUSTRAC Online under s.51B of the AML/CTF Act 2006, regardless of which track applies to you. The distinction is only in timing: businesses providing designated services on 1 July 2026 had until 29 July 2026 to complete enrolment; anyone starting afterward has 28 days from their own start date.

IV. Reference

Frequently asked questions

Not sure whether you’re in scope at all? Use the Am I Regulated? checker first, then come back here to work out your enrolment window.

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Primary sources

AUSTRAC — Tranche 2 reform guidance

Last updated 20 August 2026 · Klyvon Compliance Team

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