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For developers selling off the plan, who has the CDD obligation?

The CDD obligation sits with whoever is providing the designated service to the purchaser, whether that is the appointed agency or the developer entity itself.

The CDD obligation sits with whoever is providing the designated service to the purchaser. This can be the agency that’s appointed or the developer entity itself if it's selling directly.

Three common scenarios:

  1. Developer sells direct (no agent). The developer is captured under Table 5, item 2 - a property developer selling its own stock is providing a designated service when it commits to sell or transfer property. Developer must enrol, run CDD on the purchaser, and meet ongoing monitoring obligations.
  2. Developer uses a lead/exclusive agent. The agent provides the designated service to both seller and buyer (Table 5, item 1) and bears the CDD obligation. The developer is not captured in this scenario - they're effectively a vendor using a captured intermediary.
  3. Developer uses multiple selling channels. Where some sales go through agents and some are direct, the developer is captured for the direct sales only. easyAML can be configured to handle the mixed flow under one subscription.

CDD timing for off-the-plan is slightly different from established stock: the customer is verified at contract signing (within 28 days), then ongoing monitoring runs through to settlement, which may be years later. A fresh KYC is typically required before the 2-year ARNECC validity period lapses (so a 3-year settlement involves a second KYC before settlement). See AUSTRAC's Real estate designated services.

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