AU Onboarding

AU onboarding combines regulatory obligations under Australia’s AML/CTF regime with configurable identity verification methods.

It includes:

• Business verification (KYB)
• Individual identity verification (KYC)
• Beneficial ownership disclosure (> 25%)
• Compliance review and approval

This guide explains how onboarding works in Australia for business, implementation, and technical teams.

Regulatory context

Australian onboarding is governed by Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) requirements.

These regulations require:

• Verification of business existence
• Identification of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs)
• Identification of at least one control individual (CONTROL_PRONG)
• Identity verification of authorized representatives

As a result:

• Registry lookup may be used for corporate verification
• Document submission may be required
• Compliance approval is mandatory before activation

Onboarding overview

Australia onboarding supports:

• Electronic KYB (eKYB)
• Manual KYB
• Electronic KYC (eKYC)
• Manual KYC (for individuals, corporate applicants, and stakeholders)

Manual review may occur when:

• Registry lookup fails
• Electronic verification fails
• Required stakeholder roles are missing
• Ownership structures are complex
• Documentation is incomplete or inconsistent

Responsibility

Client responsibilities

The client's onboarding responsibilities include:

• Collect accurate business and stakeholder information
• Declare all required stakeholder roles
• Declare UBOs (> 25% ownership)
• Capture applicant attestation
• Upload required documents
• Ensure stakeholders complete identity verification

Nium responsibilities

Nium's onboarding responsibilities include:

• Retrieve registry information (when eKYB is used)
• Validate identity and document submissions
• Conduct compliance checks
• Raise RFIs (Requests for Information) if required
• Approve or reject onboarding

Business verification (KYB)

Australia supports both Electronic KYB (eKYB) and Manual KYB.

Electronic KYB (eKYB)

Electronic KYB retrieves publicly available company information from Australian registries; It:

• Pre-fills corporate data
• Reduces document collection requirements
• Helps reduce onboarding friction
• Speeds up approvals

Step 1: Fetch public corporate details

Collect:

• businessRegistrationNumber
• countryCode

Use the Fetch Public Corporate Details request.

Store the returned publicDetailsId.

If no details are returned, proceed with manual KYB using Create Customer v5.

Step 2: Fetch exhaustive corporate details

Use the Fetch Exhaustive Corporate Details request and include the publicDetailsId.

Store the returned searchId.

important

This is a chargeable API. Use it only once per customer.

Contact your Nium account manager or Nium Support for pricing details.

Step 3: Verify and complete corporate details

Verify the submitted details:

• Confirm submitted data with the applicant
• Collect any missing information
• Add stakeholder details

Stakeholder verification – electronic

If electronic KYC is selected for a stakeholder:

• A verification link is generated
• The stakeholder completes identity verification via the hosted KYC form
• The applicant can track verification progress

Stakeholder verification – manual

If manual verification is selected, required documents must be uploaded via the hosted KYC form

For full document requirements, see AU Required Documents.

Step 4: Upload required documents

Document upload is required when:

• searchId is not provided
• Registry data is incomplete
• Additional documents are requested during review

Use the Upload Document request.

The response returns a fileId.

This fileId must be referenced in the onboarding request.

For a complete list, see AU Required Documents.

Step 5: Applicant declaration

The authorized representative must confirm:

I certify that I am an authorized representative of the customer.
All information and documents provided are complete and accurate.
I confirm that all UBOs have been disclosed and that I have accepted the Nium Terms and Conditions.

Capture via clickwrap and submit:

Field	Type	Required	Description
applicantDeclaration	boolean	Yes	Indicates acceptance of declaration
applicantDeclarationTimestamp	timestamp	Yes	Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

Step 6: Submit onboarding request

Use Create Customer v5 and include:

• Corporate details
• Stakeholder details
• searchId (if applicable)
• Uploaded fileId references
• Applicant attestation fields

If searchId is omitted, the application proceeds through manual review.

Individual verification (KYC)

Australia supports both Electronic KYC (eKYC) and Manual KYC for:

• Individual customers
• Corporate applicants
• Directors
• UBOs
• Stakeholders

Step 1: Create customer

Create the individual using Create Customer v5.

After submission:

status	substatus
PENDING	AWAITING_KYC

Step 2: Access hosted KYC form

The applicant accesses the hosted KYC form.

Access is protected by a One-Time Password (OTP) sent to the registered email.

Step 3: Complete identity verification

The applicant:

• Uploads proof of identity
• Completes live selfie verification (if required)

Stakeholders must complete verification individually.

Step 4: Compliance review

After KYC completion:

status	substatus
PENDING	UNDER_REVIEW

Nium’s compliance team then reviews submissions offline.

If additional information is required:

• An RFI is raised
• The customer responds via the RFI Hosted Form

Final decision:

Outcome	status
Approved	ACTIVE
Rejected	REJECTED

Webhook notifications are sent for all status transitions.

Stakeholder and UBO requirements

Ultimate Beneficial Owner

• All shareholders owning more than 25% of shares (directly or indirectly) must be declared as an Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBOs).
• If no individual owns more than 25%, the most senior director must be declared as the UBO.
• If no UBO is submitted, Nium may identify the UBO during compliance review.
• For sole traders, the owner must be declared as the UBO.

Multi-layer ownership

If the customer has a multi-layer ownership structure:

• All corporate stakeholders owning more than 25% (directly or indirectly) must be declared.
• Corporate structure (ownership structure) documentation must be submitted to validate the ownership chain.

For more information, see Multi-layer ownership structure.

Position mapping

Business entity type	Director	Members	Partner	Representative	Settlor	Trustee	UBO	Shareholder	Signatory	Executor	Protector
ASSOCIATION		Yes		Yes			Yes	Yes	Yes
GOVERNMENT_ENTITY	Yes			Yes			Yes	Yes	Yes
PARTNERSHIP	Yes		Yes				Yes	Yes	Yes
PRIVATE_COMPANY	Yes			Yes			Yes	Yes	Yes
PUBLIC_COMPANY	Yes			Yes			Yes	Yes	Yes
REGULATED_TRUST					Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SOLE_TRADER	Yes			Yes			Yes	Yes	Yes
UNREGULATED_TRUST					Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

A blank cell means the role is not applicable for that business type.

To dynamically retrieve valid roles use the Fetch Corporate Constants request.

Additional clarifications

• For Associations, use REPRESENTATIVE for roles such as chair, secretary, or treasurer.
• Some Partnerships may include DIRECTOR roles depending on structure.
• Private and Public companies without an identifiable UBO may pass SHAREHOLDER with ownership percentage details.

For next steps based on application status, see Customer Lifecycle.

Related resources

• Hosted KYC Form
• Customer Onboarding v5