Real estate agents, accountants and lawyers came under Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act on July 1, requiring them to identify buyers and sellers and report suspicious activity to police. The change means cash deals with minimal identification are no longer possible.

AUSTRAC boss Brendan Thomas said the reforms will "help uncover money laundering in real estate transactions that we don't currently see". Two-thirds of the $1.2 billion in criminal assets frozen by police since 2020 is related to property, with the AFP's Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce having seized two Sydney penthouses in The Rocks district after they were purchased at inflated prices by organised crime figures.

Economists are split on the impact. AUSTRAC argues the rules will lower prices by removing illicit money from the market; Domain's chief economist says property values are "still driven by supply, demand and interest rates" and expects "no major impact" on average home prices, Colin Kruger reports for SMH business (AU).