Rolf Howard

Rolf Howard is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and the Managing Partner of Owen Hodge Lawyers. With more than 35 years’ experience in legal practice, business leadership and governance, Rolf brings a practical and strategic perspective to AML/CTF compliance. 

Throughout his career, Rolf has advised clients across litigation, dispute resolution, insurance, asset protection, succession planning and governance. This breadth of experience gives him a strong understanding of how risk appears in real commercial and professional settings. He has managed complex legal matters, advised leadership teams and worked closely with business owners on decisions involving strategy, structure, accountability and long-term protection.

Rolf’s approach is shaped by his experience as both a legal practitioner and a business leader. As Managing Partner of Owen Hodge Lawyers, and having chaired and served on multiple advisory boards, Rolf is recognised for his ability to connect legal obligations with commercial strategy. His work focuses on helping leaders understand their responsibilities, make informed decisions and create systems that support accountability across the business. His style is direct, practical and governance-led, making complex regulatory obligations easier for firms to understand and implement.

Specialising in AML/CTF compliance, Rolf helps firms move from awareness to action. He designs compliance systems that align risk assessment, customer due diligence, internal decision-making, suspicious matter escalation, recordkeeping and staff training. His work also considers how technology can support implementation, without replacing the need for sound judgement, clear governance and a strong compliance culture.

Continuing Professional Development CPD

From 1 July 2026, law firms, accounting firms, conveyancers and real estate professionals will be brought into Australia’s expanded AML/CTF regime. That means firms will need more than a general understanding of the reforms. They will need a practical, documented and defensible system for managing AML/CTF compliance across the business.

The AML/CTF Masterclass has been designed for small and medium professional firms that know they need to act, but want clear guidance on how to do it properly.

This is not another free webinar giving you a high-level overview of the reforms. It is a practical, step-by-step course that explains what your firm needs to build, what decisions need to be made, what documents should be prepared, and how AML/CTF compliance can be embedded into your everyday workflows.

The course includes approximately 4–5 hours of academic content and qualifies for CPD under the Law Society of NSW CPD Rules. Each hour of content may count as 1 CPD point. The course covers key compulsory CPD fields, including Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Professional Skills and Substantive Law, with practical application to Practice Management and Business Skills.

A practical compliance roadmap

The course breaks AML/CTF compliance into clear, manageable steps. You will learn how to approach your AML/CTF Program, Risk Assessment, customer due diligence processes, ongoing monitoring, suspicious matter escalation, recordkeeping, staff training and internal accountability.

Rather than leaving you with broad obligations, the course shows you how to turn those obligations into firm-wide systems your team can actually follow.

Ready-to-use templates and documents

The course includes practical templates and documents to help your firm get started. These are designed to support policy development, reporting, recordkeeping and internal decision-making.

You do not need to start from a blank page. The course gives you a structured base to work from, so you can tailor your framework to your firm’s size, services, clients and risk profile.

Guidance on technology and implementation

AML/CTF compliance should not be built around software alone. Your firm needs the right decisions first, then the right tools to support them.

The course helps you understand what to look for in compliance technology, how to avoid buying software before your framework is ready, and how the right platform can support customer due diligence, verification, risk rating, monitoring and audit-ready recordkeeping.