What does the "maximum depth" setting function on KYB?
Controls how many layers of corporate ownership the platform traces during unwrapping before stopping; default is 3 layers, which covers most Australian corporate structures.
It controls how many layers of corporate ownership the platform will trace during the unwrap before stopping. The default is 3 layers, which covers the vast majority of Australian corporate structures and aligns with AUSTRAC's expectation that reporting entities identify the ultimate natural-person controllers without stopping at any specific layer.
How it works:
- Layer 1 = the operating company (the customer).
- Layer 2 = a shareholder that's itself a company.
- Layer 3 = a shareholder of that company.
- And so on, up to the configured depth.
The platform stops automatically once every branch terminates in a natural person or there is no more possible UBOs to be found. The depth setting is the safety ceiling, not a target - if a 3-layer structure resolves at layer 2, the unwrap completes at layer 2.
When to raise it. For unusually deep structures - multi-tiered family group holdings, complex trust-and-company arrangements, large private corporate groups - raise the depth to 5, 7 or 10 in the KYB settings before starting the unwrap. There's no surcharge for the higher depth setting itself; just the cost of the actual KYBs unwrapped.
Lowering below 3 isn't usually appropriate - it risks the unwrap stopping before reaching the ultimate natural-person controllers, which would leave the CDD incomplete relative to AUSTRAC's beneficial-ownership rules.
What about trusts in the middle of a structure? The unwrap pauses at any trust layer regardless of depth setting and asks for the deed - the depth setting controls automated company-to-company traversal, not trust handling.
See AUSTRAC's Trust and corporate services designated services page.