Client onboarding requirements

Why do we need this information?

In 2018 lawyers became subject to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (Act) and associated regulations.

The Act requires us to meet the requirements for client due diligence, which involves requesting information from our clients to (i) understand the nature and purpose of their engagement of our services, (ii) verify relevant individuals’ identities and undertake other identity related checks, and (iii) verify source of wealth or source of funds if required.

Lane Neave takes our obligations under the Act very seriously in knowing they are in place to detect and deter money laundering and the financing of terrorism in New Zealand.

We have adopted the Act’s client due diligence requirements for all our clients when they engage us to act on a matter for them, whether the matter is captured under the Act or not.  Lane Neave does this for the purposes of ensuring that it can act for our clients on any matter where Lane Neave’s obligations at law, and in particular its obligations under the Act, require those client due diligence requirements to be undertaken before Lane Neave can act on that matter.

How does this affect you as a client?

This means you will have to provide us with the requested information, including identification and proof of address documents. We may also need to request proof of funds or proof of wealth when undertaking certain types of work.

How to provide this information

Lane Neave provides access to an electronic verification system which enables you to self-verify by using a mobile phone*. You can choose this option when you complete the Lane Neave Client Form and a link will be sent to your phone. Alternatively, you can bring the identification and proof of address with you when you come to a meeting at our office. Identification is more easily verified by a passport which has your photograph, date of birth and signature. If you do not have a passport we have listed other documents we can accept as forms of identification in the section Identification Documents.

As the regulations require us to view the documents in your presence, we will also take a copy for our records. If you are unable to visit the office, we can accept a certified copy of the original document. Read our section on Trusted Referees to find out how to get your documents certified as a true and correct copy.

* Electronic verification is only available for NZ and Australian passports and driver’s licences.

When to provide this information

You will receive a Lane Neave Information request by email from our Compliance Department. The requested information must be provided before we can start work on your behalf. If we are not able to obtain the required information from you, it is unlikely we can commence your instructions and will not be able to act for you.

How Lane Neave uses and discloses this information

Lane Neave uses the requested information (“AML information”) for the following identity related checks:

• To check that the AML information matches the information in the relevant government databases, e.g. passport databases. This includes accessing the New Zealand and Australian document verification services.  Lane Neave has arrangements in place to work with third parties to use the third party systems to undertake the information matching process.  These third parties include Green ID Limited, VIX Verify Pty Limited, APLY Limited (trading as APLYiD) and Data Zoo Pty Limited.  Lane Neave provides an information match request, and receives an information match result and other information match data from the service.  The information involved will be transmitted to and from Australia when accessing the Australian document verification service.
• To check we are not prohibited from acting for you under the Act. Lane Neave accesses a number of other databases, many of which are outside of New Zealand, in order to undertake these checks.  We may also use third parties, including APLYiD, to facilitate such access which occurs in a similar manner.

Where the electronic verification system we provide access to is the APLYiD identity verification application and you provide information directly into the APLYiD identity verification application that information will be collected by APLYiD, and will be held and used subject to its privacy policy.  In such a case, APLYiD will undertake the identity related checks.  You authorise APLYiD to provide to us the information you entered into the APLYiD identity verification application and the results of the identity related checks and for us to collect it from APLYiD.  That information will form part of the AML information.

All such use of the AML information when accessing those databases is limited to compliance with our obligations under the Act and any other applicable law.

How your consent is obtained

Lane Neave can only undertake these checks with your consent, which is given by signing a consent form or by using any electronic verification system we make available for that purpose.  You may withdraw your consent at any time prior to us undertaking our identity check process.  To do so, please contact compliance@laneneave.co.nz.

We may provide a copy of the form we collect or, where an electronic verification system is used, any online form and the electronic consent provided, to the third parties used if they require it to evidence your consent in the information matching process they undertake for us.

Privacy requirements

Please refer to Lane Neave’s privacy policy for further information on our responsibilities under the Privacy Act 2020.

Lane Neave’s privacy policy sets out information on how to make a complaint.  In addition, if your complaint relates to information obtained from an Australian government agency in connection with our identity checking process and you are dissatisfied with the handling of your complaint and you reside in Australia you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA):

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Mail: GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
Fax: +61 2 9284 9666
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au