Visibl data links AML compliance confusion to ID checks
A Visibl-commissioned survey of 61 legal, real estate and accounting businesses suggests 75.4% believe identity verification checks alone satisfy AML compliance obligations under Australia’s new AML/CTF laws.
Accountants made up 46 of the 61 respondents, or 75% of the sample. According to the survey, 56.5% of businesses relying only on VOI checks are skipping at least one required step, including sanctions and PEP screening, beneficial ownership verification, or full Know Your Customer and Know Your Business checks. Across the full sample, that equates to 42.6% operating on what Visibl describes as a false sense of compliance.
The survey was fielded from 31 July to 10 August 2026 and included in-depth interviews with three industry practitioners. Visibl said the findings come weeks after the new laws took effect.
False sense of compliance
The same survey found 91.8% of businesses had appointed a Compliance Officer, 82% had completed a formal risk assessment and 70.5% had a written AML/CTF programme. But only 34.4% were assessed as genuinely ready when governance and day-to-day practice were considered together, compared with 65.6% who felt confident they would pass an AUSTRAC review.
Kaan Yuksel, founder and managing director of Visibl, said: “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.”
Jesselyn Dang, business transformation manager at accounting firm HK Partners, said the challenge for accountants was embedding compliance into daily workflows. One accounting respondent told the survey: “It’s time-consuming and honestly, I’m still not sure whether we fully comply.”
Time and cost were identified by 41% of businesses surveyed as their single biggest compliance challenge, with the report saying that pressure was sharpest among firms with fewer than 20 staff. Visibl said the first annual AML/CTF compliance reports fall due in 12 months.
