Designated Service

What is a designated service?

A designated service is any activity specifically listed in Australia’s AML/CTF Act as carrying money laundering or terrorism financing risk. The list covers a wide range, from opening accounts and making loans to remittance, currency exchange, and certain gambling services. Providing even one designated service turns a business into a reporting entity with full AML/CTF obligations. The concept matters because it is the switch that activates the regime: the same company can offer services that fall outside the list and one that falls inside it, and only the designated activity brings the duties. Tranche two reforms have widened the list to capture more professions.

Why it matters for Australian finance teams

Whether your business provides a designated service determines whether AUSTRAC’s rules apply to it at all, so misjudging that line is costly. A finance team may assume it is unregulated, only to find a particular product or payment arrangement is a designated service that should have triggered customer verification, record keeping, and reporting. Knowing which of your activities are in scope is the first step to sizing your compliance obligations correctly.

How ezyshield helps

ezyshield does not classify which of your activities are designated services, that assessment is a legal question for your compliance team. Where it helps is delivering the identity controls that in-scope services demand: it verifies the person, the business through ABN and ASIC checks, and bank account ownership before money moves, and logs each check in an append-only audit trail that is never edited or deleted. That gives you dependable verification and evidence wherever a designated service requires it. See how it works and AML/CTF compliance in Australia.