Every conveyancer knows the VOI drill: the client comes in, you photocopy a passport and a driver licence, fill in a certificate template, and file it somewhere you hope you can find in seven years. This guide covers what the Verification of Identity rules actually require in 2026 — and where the common mistakes hide.
Where the VOI requirement comes from
VOI isn't AUSTRAC law. It comes from ARNECC's Model Participation Rules — the rules that govern electronic conveyancing — and their Verification of Identity Standard. Before certifying a transaction, a subscriber takes reasonable steps to verify the identity of clients (and others, like attorneys under a power of attorney). Following the Standard's face-to-face regime is the well-worn path practitioners and insurers prefer.
The document categories, briefly
The Standard prescribes categories of original documents, and you use the highest category the person can satisfy:
- Category 1: passport (Australian or foreign) plus an Australian driver licence or photo card — the everyday case.
- Category 2: passport plus a full birth/citizenship/descent certificate plus a Medicare, Centrelink or DVA card.
- Category 3: driver licence or photo card plus certificate plus Medicare-type card — for people without a passport.
- Category 4: passport plus other government-issued identity documents.
- Category 5: an Identifier Declaration — a fallback with strict conditions on who the declarant can be and what they must state.
- Category 6: for people who are not Australian citizens or residents — built on a foreign passport.
Two details that catch people: extracts and commemorative birth certificates don't count (it must be the full certificate), and an expired Australian passport can still be used up to two years past expiry if it hasn't been cancelled — the only document with that grace.
The name-change trap
If the name on one document doesn't match the others — marriage, divorce, anglicised names — you need a BDM-issued marriage or change-of-name certificate to link them. The ceremonial certificate from the wedding day doesn't count.
What you must keep, and for how long
Here's the part that surprises: nothing gets lodged. Inside PEXA you certify that you hold the evidence; the copies of what you sighted and your record of the verification stay in your file, producible if the Registrar calls a compliance examination — commonly for at least 7 years from lodgment. A VOI you can't produce is, functionally, a VOI you never did.
How long a VOI lasts
A verification supports transactions for two years from the interview. There's nuance — a current Client Authorisation signed at the original VOI can extend reliance under the current Participation Rules — but the practical rule is: know your certificates' dates, and re-verify before starting a new matter on a stale one.
The five mistakes we see most
- Accepting scans or photocopies instead of sighting originals in person.
- Using a lower category when the person could satisfy a higher one, without recording why.
- Missing the name-link certificate when documents don't match.
- Certificates scattered across templates and shared drives — unfindable at examination time.
- No system for currency — discovering at settlement that the VOI lapsed months ago.
VOI and your AML file, in one place.
CompliDesk runs your guided face-to-face VOI, stores the certificate, tracks its 2-year currency, and can adopt it as the client's AML identity check — one meeting, both records.
See how VOI works in CompliDeskRelated reading: AML/CTF compliance for conveyancers — Tranche 2 guide · CompliDesk for conveyancers