Australia’s real estate sector has spent months preparing for the most significant regulatory shift in decades as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations move from theory to imminent reality.
Agencies have traded checklists, attended webinars and stress-tested workflows, but behind the scenes, a more strategic question has emerged:
Should compliance be handled in-office? Outsourced? Automated? Or centralised at a network level?
The answers vary widely. Some brands are rolling out basic awareness training, others are adopting new prop-tech tools promising to streamline identity verification and a handful are hiring dedicated compliance officers.
And then there are those taking a more structural approach – re-engineering the system rather than just preparing for it.
That’s where Woodards has positioned itself.
“Our mission has always been to be known as the real estate service business that does the right thing,” says Nigel O’Neil, CEO of Woodards.
“While some in the industry are reportedly in denial or adopting ‘hybrid models’ that leave the compliance obligations on individual offices, we see this as a vital step in upholding the integrity of our business.
“For us, ‘doing the right thing’ means providing a unified shield for our entire network.”
The network has spent months preparing its 23 offices for the changes, establishing a dedicated compliance team at head office.
A centralised system
Rather than requiring each office to register separately as a reporting entity with AUSTRAC, Woodards has adopted a Group Reporting Model.
Head office acts as the lead entity for all compliance and reporting obligations, while agents continue to initiate customer due diligence through a digital platform. They collect identification and begin verification checks, but more complex compliance tasks, including suspicious activity reporting, audits, and regulatory oversight, are handled centrally.
“We don’t believe something as significant as AML/CTF should be a burden for individual offices to navigate on their own,” Nigel says.
“By moving to a Group Reporting Model, Woodards Head Office acts as the Lead Entity. This centralises the strict administrative requirements and supports complex Customer Due Diligence (CDD), ensuring that risk is mitigated at the brand, agent, and customer level simultaneously.”
Jason Sharpe, Director of Woodards Ascot Vale and Carlton North, says for agents on the ground, the benefits are immediate.
“AML compliance is incredibly complex and the potential penalties for getting it wrong are significant. Knowing that head office is handling the heavy lifting gives our teams enormous confidence. It means our agents can focus on their clients and transactions while still knowing the business is fully compliant and protected.”
Nigel explains that the centralised, proactive approach helps agents adapt smoothly to the new rules without disrupting the sales process.
“By taking this proactive, centralised stance today, we are future-proofing our marketplace and our people. We aren’t just waiting for legislation to change; we are setting the standard for how a modern, responsible real estate group prepares for the future.”
By centralising compliance, he says Woodards aims to reduce risk, maintain consistency, and make the regulatory transition smoother for agents.