Australia is legislating its way out of a gap. For years the only crypto-specific obligations were AUSTRAC registration for digital currency exchanges (since 2018) and ASIC's position, set out in Information Sheet 225 and litigated in a string of cases, that many crypto products are financial products requiring an Australian Financial Services Licence. The Treasury's March 2025 statement committed to a platform-based model, and Parliament has since legislated it. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on April 8, 2026 and commences April 9, 2027, creating two new financial products, the digital asset platform and the tokenised custody platform, and requiring operators holding client assets above thresholds to obtain an AFSL and meet custody, disclosure, and conduct standards, with a transition window for existing operators. Payment stablecoins are being handled separately through the government's payments licensing reforms.
Until commencement, courts keep drawing the perimeter: ASIC has won and lost cases on yield products and token schemes, and its updated INFO 225 guidance maps existing law onto exchange tokens, stablecoins, and staking. The AML/CTF reforms passed in 2024 took effect for the sector on March 31, 2026, replacing 'digital currency' with 'virtual asset' and extending coverage to exchanges between virtual assets, transfers, safekeeping, and issuance services.
The instruments
Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026
Creates 'digital asset platform' and 'tokenised custody platform' as financial products under the Corporations Act: AFSL licensing for operators holding client crypto above thresholds, minimum custody and settlement standards, and disclosure and conduct obligations, with a transition window after commencement for existing operators to apply.
AUSTRAC digital currency exchange registration
Providers of virtual asset services must enrol and register with AUSTRAC, run AML/CTF programs, and report suspicious matters and threshold transactions. Reforms in force since March 31, 2026 replaced 'digital currency' with 'virtual asset' and extended coverage beyond fiat conversion to exchanges between virtual assets, transfers, safekeeping, and issuance services.
ASIC Information Sheet 225 and enforcement practice
ASIC's map of when tokens, staking, yield products, and platforms constitute financial products under existing law, refined by Federal Court decisions in cases against yield and token-scheme providers.