Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD)

What is enhanced due diligence?

EDD is the extra layer of scrutiny you apply when a customer or counterparty presents higher risk than the norm. Standard customer due diligence confirms who someone is; EDD digs deeper, verifying source of funds or ownership more thoroughly, screening more closely, and monitoring more often. A typical Australian trigger is a politically exposed person (PEP), a foreign-owned entity, or a complex ownership structure. For example, before onboarding a supplier whose ultimate beneficial owner is a PEP, a finance team would gather and verify more evidence than for a routine local vendor.

Why it matters for Australian finance teams

Under Australia’s AML/CTF regime, overseen by AUSTRAC, applying EDD to higher-risk relationships is an expectation, not an option, and failing to do so is a common finding in enforcement action. For finance teams, higher-risk counterparties are also where the largest fraud and sanctions exposure sits, so deeper identity checks protect the business as well as satisfy the regulator. The practical challenge is doing that extra verification reliably and keeping evidence that you did.

How ezyshield helps

ezyshield supports the deeper identity verification EDD calls for by confirming the person, the business via ABN and ASIC records, and bank account ownership before money moves, with re-verification whenever key details change. Every check is written to an append-only audit trail, logged and never edited or deleted, giving you a defensible record for higher-risk relationships. ezyshield strengthens the identity and verification component; it does not perform the full risk assessment, source-of-funds analysis, or ongoing monitoring an EDD process also requires. See how it works and our guide to AML/CTF ongoing due diligence in 2026.