Australia's Specialist AML Compliance Partner
Built by practitioners. Designed to pay for itself.
The Hidden Danger
Many agencies have signed up to cheap automated solutions believing they are covered. That does not mean they are compliant or protected. Your compliance officers' systems, judgement and reporting is where major problems can occur.
Under the AML/CTF Act, the legal obligation rests entirely with you — the reporting entity. Not your software. Not your vendor. When AUSTRAC audits your agency, it is your licence, your livelihood, and your personal liability on the line.
Westpac fined $1.3 billion. CBA fined $700 million. SkyCity fined $67 million. AUSTRAC proceedings were initiated against smaller entities in 2025. The "I'm too small to notice" thinking is no defence – every licensee is captured and will be monitored.
Three Models. One Standard.
Every model includes a one-time setup & implementation fee of $1,150 + GST — then a simple monthly fee based on the model you choose. No lock-in. No hidden costs.
For sole agents and small operators who want a real, structured AML/CTF compliance framework — not a generic tick-box. You manage your own compliance with the confidence of a purpose-built platform behind you.
A qualified, dedicated Compliance Officer is assigned to your agency — managing your AML program, monitoring transactions, lodging reports, and keeping you audit-ready at all times. Real people. Real accountability.
The only model on the market that turns your mandatory compliance cost into a commercial advantage. An embedded, licensed CFO handles full AML compliance AND builds a finance arm inside your agency — generating income that offsets and then exceeds the cost of compliance.
AML Cost Recovery — Business Strategy
Every real estate principal faces the same question when evaluating AML/CTF compliance: what is this going to cost my business? The answer may surprise you — because the cost can be passed to the vendor, legally and transparently, as a standard administration fee on the listing contract. This is not unusual. Every professional service business builds compliance cost into its fee structure. Real estate is no different.
The Insight
If you can pass the cost through to the vendor — which you can — then price is no longer a differentiating factor between AML providers. Every platform becomes "affordable." So the real question becomes:
Which AML/CTF provider actually protects your licence, survives an AUSTRAC audit, and delivers a complete, defensible compliance framework?
The answer to that question is what should drive your decision — not the monthly fee. A cheap platform that leaves you exposed to a $33 million penalty or licence suspension is not cost-effective at any price.
The Challenge
We're confident enough in our proposition to say this directly: compare us online. Open any AI tool — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini — and ask it to compare REAL AML, PEXA Clear, AMLHUB, and First AML on completeness of compliance coverage, franchise network governance, security certifications, and human oversight. Then make your decision on the facts.
When Evaluating Any AML/CTF Provider — Ask These Questions
🔐 Compliance Completeness
🏢 Audit Survivability
💼 Commercial Value
REAL AML offers three compliance models but here is the part no other provider offers or explains:
Example: $350 subscription ÷ 3 transactions = $117 per transaction
A small, transparent addition to an existing line item — standard industry practice
Net cost to your agency: $0. Full, defensible, AUSTRAC-ready compliance — at zero net expense.
This is the REAL AML Zero Net Cost Model — a practical business methodology promoted and guided by our certified Business Advisors. Many businesses routinely pass on compliance and operational costs through admin fees, and REAL AML makes this straightforward for real estate agencies by showing you exactly how to apply it to your AML subscription. Software-only solutions charge $6 to $399 per month and rarely explain how to offset that cost. When you remove price from the equation using vendor admin fee recovery, the comparison becomes about what you actually get — and on that measure, REAL AML delivers the most complete AUSTRAC-ready program in the market.
Book a strategy call to see your zero-cost modelThe CFO Model — Explained
REAL AML promotes this methodology through our Certified Professional Business Advisors (CPBA), built for business growth and integrated by finance experts who have lived through and managed AML compliance since 2008, the CFO Model places a licensed Finance Manager (AML Ready) inside your agency — handling all AML/CTF compliance obligations while simultaneously building a finance revenue line that belongs entirely to you.
Your client database remains 100% yours. Contractually. Always. And over time, the finance arm builds into a saleable asset that adds directly to the enterprise value of your business.
Check out the CFO Calculator below to see the potential benefits for your office.
Figures are indicative based on industry-standard metrics. Individual results will vary. See full calculator below.
The CFO model works differently within each office. Growth results depend upon agency engagement and motivation.
The Sentinel Platform
The REAL AML Compliance Portal is a purpose-built, high-security platform that automates the workflow of AML compliance — so your team focuses on selling, while the system handles the documentation, deadlines, and reporting.
Separate, secure logins for Agents, Compliance Officers, Principals, Administrators and REAL AML Super Admin — each seeing only what they need.
Built-in AI analysis assists Compliance Officers with transaction risk assessment, SMR drafting and pattern recognition — reducing manual burden significantly.
SMR and TTR deadline tracking, annual compliance report generation, and full immutable audit trail — all automated, all AUSTRAC-ready.
REAL AML integrates GreenID (by GBG/Equifax) — Australia's largest approved Gateway Service Provider for the Federal Government's Document Verification Service (DVS). GreenID verifies Driver's Licences, Passports, Medicare Cards, Australian Visas, Electoral Roll and more — with biometric liveness detection, ISO 27001 certification and a 99.99% uptime SLA. Enterprise-grade KYC, not a checkbox.
For complex vendors, purchasers, trust structures, corporate entities and offshore parties — REAL AML's CO Portal uses AI to analyse trust deeds and company documents, map beneficial ownership (UBO), identify structural risk and produce a compliance assessment for the Compliance Officer to review and act on. This is gold-standard KYC for high-risk and complex transactions — the kind of deep structural analysis that separates genuine compliance from tick-and-flick software solutions.
Every principal, vendor and purchaser is screened against Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists, international sanctions databases and adverse media sources — delivered through GreenID's integrated watchlist engine. Continuous monitoring ensures your agency remains protected beyond initial onboarding, throughout the transaction lifecycle.
REAL AML integrates GreenID, Australia's largest approved Gateway Service Provider for the government's Document Verification Service (DVS). GreenID verifies Driver's Licences, Passports, Medicare Cards, Australian Visas, Electoral Roll and more — with biometric liveness detection, ISO 27001 certification, and a 99.99% uptime SLA. This is enterprise-grade KYC, not a checkbox.
For complex vendors, purchasers, trusts, corporate structures and offshore parties — REAL AML's CO Portal uses AI to analyse trust deeds and company documents, mapping beneficial ownership (UBO), flagging structural risk and providing a compliance assessment for the Compliance Officer to review. This is gold-standard KYC for high-risk and complex transactions — the kind of deep structural analysis that separates genuine compliance from tick-and-flick software.
Every principal, vendor and purchaser is screened against Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists, international sanctions databases and adverse media sources — delivered through GreenID's watchlist engine. Continuous monitoring ensures your agency stays protected beyond onboarding.
Enterprise-Grade Protection
REAL AML's AML Compliance Portal is built on an enterprise security stack that matches or exceeds the standards demanded of Australia's largest financial institutions — with every byte of your data stored on Australian soil.
Every login, compliance decision, document upload, SMR lodgement and status change is recorded with the user's name, timestamp and IP address — creating an immutable audit trail that AUSTRAC can inspect at any time. This is not optional. This is the law — and we've built it in from day one.
Compliance deadlines don't move. Our platform is hosted on Vercel's enterprise infrastructure with a 99.99% uptime SLA and automatic failover — ensuring your team can access compliance workflows whenever needed, especially in the critical days before settlement.
Multi-Office. Franchise Networks. Large Groups.
A cloud-based software tool cannot solve a group compliance problem. AUSTRAC's AML/CTF Rules 2025 impose specific governance and uniformity obligations on franchise networks and reporting groups — obligations that require embedded human expertise, not just software access.
"In a group/franchise, the real setup risk is uneven execution between offices — and regulators tend to notice. The documented position is that obligations don't 'scale down'; expectations around control, documentation, consistency, and governance discipline only scale up."
— REAL AML AML/CTF Master Guide for Groups & Franchises (2026)
The CFO Offset Calculator
Enter your agency's profile below. The calculator instantly shows how the REAL AML CFO Model converts your AML compliance cost into another commercial income stream.
This calculator is a commercial illustration tool using industry-standard metrics. Results are indicative only. Finance-arm values use a trail multiple of 2.5× annual trail plus 3× EBITDA proxy, with 18% annual trail run-off. REAL AML is part of Emerald Group Holdings. ACL 39611.
The People Behind REAL AML
REAL AML brings together a finance veteran, a real estate professional and trainer, and a certified professional business advisor — combining three disciplines to deliver a compliance model that is commercially intelligent, practically grounded, and genuinely defensible.
Phil is a finance industry veteran and the visionary behind REAL AML. With decades of experience in regulated financial services, Phil identified the critical gap in the Australian real estate market — agencies that needed genuinely defensible AML compliance, not a software tick. He founded Emerald Group Holdings to solve that problem commercially.
Noel is a real estate professional and certified professional business advisor who oversees the strategic and operational integrity of every REAL AML program. His dual expertise in real estate operations and business advisory ensures that each agency's compliance framework is commercially structured, legally sound, and built to scale.
Trish is a seasoned real estate professional and trainer who brings deep industry understanding to REAL AML's operational delivery. She knows how agencies work from the inside — which means the compliance frameworks she implements are practical, agent-friendly, and built for real-world adoption, not just documentation.
An Emerald Group Holdings Company
REAL AML is part of Emerald Group Holdings — an Australian professional services group focused on compliance-aligned growth, income preservation, and enterprise value creation in regulated service industries.
The 360 Difference
REAL AML is not another software tool dressed up as a compliance solution. We are compliance professionals with decades of hands-on experience in regulated finance, supported by technology and a human framework built to withstand real-world scrutiny. We do not view AML as a box-ticking burden. We view it as a critical business function that, when structured properly, can protect the principal, strengthen the agency and support sustainable growth. REAL AML was not founded by software developers or back-room compliance technicians. It was built on business best practice and certified professional advisory methodologies to deliver protection, structure and commercial strength.
Our clients don't just have a tick in a box. They have a genuine, defensible AML/CTF framework — one that would hold up to AUSTRAC scrutiny on audit day, because that is precisely what it was built for.
Book Your Strategy CallOur team has operated in regulated finance — where AML compliance is a daily reality, not a Tranche-2 addition. We bring 20 years of that discipline to your agency.
Software can collect data. It cannot exercise judgment. Every REAL AML client has a named, qualified Compliance Officer who is personally accountable for the program.
Our CFO Model is the only AML compliance structure on the Australian market that converts a mandatory cost into a new income stream — under your brand, your database, your asset.
Not the cheapest. Not the most expensive. Positioned deliberately in the middle — delivering enterprise-grade defensibility at a price that makes commercial sense for any serious agency.
Under the CFO Model, your client data never flows to an external broker. It stays in your system, under your control, building enterprise value — not someone else's loan book.
Our programs are built to survive AUSTRAC's mandatory three-yearly independent audit — not just the enrolment process. Defensible documentation from your first day as a client.
The standard that matters
AUSTRAC will not ask what you paid for compliance. They will ask what you have. Here are the five requirements every real estate agency must be able to demonstrate — and how the market stacks up when price is taken out of the conversation.
| What AUSTRAC requires | REAL AML Full Program |
PEXA AML | First AML | AML Hub | AML Assured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written AML/CTF ProgramTailored to your agency, approved by senior management | ✓ Done for you | ✗ Not included | ~ Template only | ~ Template only | ~ Wizard-generated |
| Named Compliance OfficerA real, accountable person — named with AUSTRAC | ✓ Embedded human CO | ✗ Software only | ✗ Software only | ✗ Software only | ✗ Software only |
| Agency Risk AssessmentSpecific to your clients, services and geography | ✓ Custom built | ✗ Not included | ~ Generic framework | ~ Generic framework | ~ AI-generated |
| Staff Training + RecordsDelivered and documented — AUSTRAC can ask for proof | ✓ Annual, recorded | ✗ Not included | ✗ Not included | ~ Self-serve modules | ~ Role-based modules |
| Independent Program ReviewRequired by law at least every three years | ✓ Scheduled & managed | ✗ Not included | ✗ Not included | ✗ Not included | ✗ Not included |
| Zero Net Cost OptionVendor admin fee recovery — full cost neutralisation | ✓ Promoted & guided by P360 | ✗ Not promoted | ✗ Not promoted | ✗ Not promoted | ✗ Not promoted |
| Price removed. What are you left with? | Full defensible compliance | ID check only | ID + templates | ID + templates | ID + program wizard |
✦ Competitor information based on publicly available product descriptions at time of publication. Always verify current offerings directly with each provider.
Common Questions
2-Minute Self-Audit
8 focused questions. 2 minutes. A personalised AML/CTF exposure report written specifically for your agency.
Start below — your answers shape the AI report you receive at the end.
Question 1 of 8
Think about a real transaction. Consider the file, the records, and who made the compliance judgments. Select the answer that most honestly reflects where you are.
👇 Please select your answer by clicking on one of the options below to move to the next question.
Take The First Step
In a single confidential session, we'll review your current compliance position, identify any critical gaps, and outline exactly what a defensible AML/CTF program — and the right model — looks like for your specific agency. No obligation. No pressure.
7 / 3972 Pacific Highway, Loganholme QLD 4129 · admin@realaml.com.au · 1300 330 644
Join The REAL AML Network
Are you a finance professional, compliance officer, or mortgage broker looking for a structured, rewarding opportunity in the growing AML compliance space?
REAL AML is actively building its national network of Compliance Officers (COs) and Compliance & Finance Officers (CFOs). As a REAL AML CO or CFO, you'll be embedded with real estate agencies — delivering compliance programs, building finance income streams, and growing a recurring revenue book under a proven, supported framework.
Who We're Looking For
Background in compliance, financial services, legal or business advisory. Comfortable managing AML programs, documentation and reporting. Full training provided.
Licensed mortgage broker or finance professional looking to add compliance income to your existing practice. Embedded agency model with full REAL AML support.
Real estate trainers, business coaches, franchise consultants or industry professionals who work with agency principals. Generous referral structure available.
To find out more, email admin@realaml.com.au with the subject line "CO/CFO Opportunity" and a brief note about your background.