AML/CFT Update: Key Changes You Need to Know
Updated 2 December 2025: This post provides clarification on our earlier update regarding recent AML/CFT legislative changes.
The Statutes Amendment Bill passed its final reading on 18 November 2025 and received Royal assent on 26 November 2025. As a result, several streamlined updates to the AML/CFT Act are now taking effect.
What’s changing?
- No address verification for Standard Customer Due Diligence (CDD)
You’ll only need to verify addresses as part of Enhanced CDD, removing a major onboarding pain point.
- Increased timeframe for law firms to submit Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS)
The timeframe for law firms to submit a suspicious activity report has increased from 3 to 5 working days, giving firms more time to comply with the reporting requirements.
- More time for Prescribed Transaction Reporting (PTRs)
The reporting window doubles from 10 to 20 working days, helping improve accuracy and reduce pressure on compliance teams.
- Cheque deposit rule tightened
The exclusion for cheque deposits from the definition of “occasional transaction” now applies only to deposits made at registered banks or non-bank deposit takers.
Clarifying the Section 24 Amendments
Two separate legislative processes are affecting section 24 of the AML/CFT Act, and each introduces different changes at different stages. To ensure the updates are clearly distinguished, here is a summary of how each Bill affects section 24:
- Statutes Amendment Bill (now enacted):
Section 24 has been amended so that verification of address, as well as verification of Source of Funds (SoF) and Source of Wealth (SoW), must be done according to the level of risk involved. - AML/CFT Amendment Bill (currently at second reading, and not yet in force):
This Bill proposes that for certain low-risk trusts, a reporting entity will not be required to verify SoF or SoW information.
Although both Bills amend section 24, the changes occur at different times and have different objectives. The updates outlined earlier in this blog relate specifically to the Statutes Amendment Bill, which has already taken effect.
Next steps
The amendments took effect following the Royal assent on 26 November 2025. AML Solutions will continue to share practical guidance on how these updates affect your processes and what you need to do to stay compliant.
Join our webinar
Want to understand what these updates mean in practice? Our upcoming webinar will cover the Statutes Amendment Bill, walk through the main changes now taking effect, and how they impact your reporting entity’s AML programme.
Date: 15 Dec 2025
Time: 10:15am – 10:45am
Tickets: Purchase here
Tijana Misur
Head of Audit & Consulting, CAMS-Audit, CA, BCOM, BHS
Tijana is a CAMS-Audit certified AML/CFT professional with extensive experience providing both Audit and Consultancy services to hundreds of New Zealand, Australian and Pacific Island reporting entities.
Now regarded as one of New Zealand’s leading AML experts, Tijana joined AML Solutions from KPMG as a senior auditor in 2014 and assisted AML Solutions develop strong AML Audit methodologies and reports.
Tijana is our Head of Audit & Consulting and is supported by a team of Consultants who are assisting reporting entities across all AML sectors with the development of their AML Compliance Programmes, AML Audits and Training. Tijana and her team’s focus is to provide practical guidance and expertise gained by observing trends and assisting over 1,000 clients with their AML/CFT obligations.
After graduating from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Accounting and Commercial Law) Tijana took her career forward with KPMG and in 2014 worked for the KPMG Luxembourg office focusing on providing audit services to specialised clients with international reporting requirements.
Tijana is a Chartered Accountant, and gained her Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist certificate through ACAMS in 2016, and the CAMS-Audit advanced certification in 2018.