Crypto Country GuideCrypto rules and tax, country by country

Australia: regulation

Last reviewed: October 2026

On this page
  1. Legal status and supervision
    1. The Digital Assets Framework Act
    2. AUSTRAC registration
  2. Exchanges and KYC
  3. Stablecoins
  4. Crypto ATMs
  5. Scams
  6. Self-custody
    1. If you lose access
  7. Sources
  • ASIC says crypto-assets that meet the legal definitions are financial products, and firms dealing in them generally need an Australian financial services (AFS) license. Its transition period ended on 30 September 2026. Bitcoin itself is unlikely to be a financial product.
  • The Digital Assets Framework Act 2026 makes digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms financial products that need an AFS license, from April 2027.
  • Every exchange and crypto ATM operator must be registered with AUSTRAC as a virtual asset service provider, identify its customers and follow the travel rule.
  • Private wallets are allowed. If you lose the private key, you usually lose the crypto.

This page covers who supervises crypto in Australia, what that means when you use an exchange or a crypto ATM, how to recognize and report scams, and the rules for your own wallet. A comparison of exchanges is on exchanges. It is general information, not legal advice.

Crypto is legal in Australia but is not legal tender; ASIC’s Moneysmart says this applies even to Australian dollar stablecoins. Two regulators matter most:

  • ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) regulates financial products. Its Information Sheet 225 says a digital asset can be a financial product when it meets the legal definitions, such as a managed investment scheme, a security, a derivative or a non-cash payment facility, and that persons who deal in or advise on such products generally need an AFS license. ASIC considers bitcoin unlikely to be a financial product.
  • AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) supervises anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) rules and keeps the register of virtual asset service providers.

ASIC gave firms a sector-wide no-action position while they moved into licensing. It ended on 30 September 2026: ASIC says that from 1 October 2026, firms that need a license or a variation but did not meet the conditions of the no-action position risk operating in breach of financial services law.

The Digital Assets Framework Act

The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 passed Parliament on 1 April 2026 and received Royal Assent on 8 April 2026. It commences 12 months after assent: the Act’s commencement table gives 8 April 2027, and ASIC says 9 April 2027. It creates two new financial products, digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms, which need an AFS license, and lets ASIC set asset-holding standards and transactional and settlement standards that licensees must follow. Small platforms can be exempt if, among other conditions, transactions through them in the last 12 months total no more than AUD 10 million and a client’s assets on the platform do not exceed AUD 5,000 when a token is added. Existing operators that apply during a 6-month transition period after commencement can keep operating until ASIC decides.

AUSTRAC registration

AUSTRAC says any business that provides digital currency exchange or virtual asset services must be registered with it. Under the AML/CTF reforms, registered digital currency exchange providers were taken to be registered as virtual asset service providers from 31 March 2026. The newly regulated services (exchanging one virtual asset for another, safekeeping, transfers for customers, and services in offers or sales of virtual assets) had their main obligations from 1 July 2026; providers that applied before 29 July 2026 can keep operating until AUSTRAC decides. AUSTRAC can refuse, suspend or cancel a registration or impose conditions, and publishes those decisions; its list shows, for example, cancellations in 2025 and 2026 and two suspensions in August 2026.

Exchanges and KYC

Before you use an exchange, check that its legal entity is on AUSTRAC’s public register of virtual asset service providers. Registered providers must run an AML/CTF program, carry out customer due diligence (know your customer, KYC), report to AUSTRAC and keep records, so expect to prove your identity. AUSTRAC’s travel rule means that businesses transferring virtual assets for customers may need to collect, verify and pass on information about the sender and the recipient. Which exchanges are registered, and whether they also hold an AFS license, is on exchanges.

Stablecoins

Australia has no stablecoin law of its own yet. ASIC says certain stablecoins are likely to be a non-cash payment facility, which is a financial product, and a yield-bearing stablecoin may be a managed investment scheme. ASIC has granted class relief (ASIC Corporations (Stablecoin and Wrapped Token Relief) Instrument 2025/867) so that distributors of eligible stablecoins and wrapped tokens do not need their own AFS license, market license or clearing and settlement license. The government has consulted on regulating payment service providers, including certain stablecoins; we could not confirm whether that law has been introduced or passed (October 2026). For GST, stablecoins are not digital currency (see business tax).

Crypto ATMs

Crypto ATMs are allowed. An operator that exchanges cash for crypto provides a digital currency exchange service and must be registered with AUSTRAC. AUSTRAC warns that crypto ATMs are especially vulnerable to misuse because they convert cash to crypto quickly, that Australians over 50 are more likely to be targeted, and that “Australian government agencies, courts, utilities, and agencies that issue fines will never ask you to pay through crypto ATMs”. Only send crypto from an ATM to a wallet you own or control. We did not find a published, current list of limits that AUSTRAC places on ATM operators, so we do not give one.

Scams

Scamwatch (run by the ACCC, the competition and consumer regulator) says Australians lose more money to investment scams than to any other type of scam. ASIC’s Moneysmart says takedowns of crypto investment scams rose by almost 30% in 2025-26, with 3,106 scams removed. Warning signs named by Scamwatch and Moneysmart:

  • fake news stories, ads or deepfakes in which a celebrity recommends an investment,
  • an online friend or romantic interest you have never met who starts talking about investing, or asks for payment in crypto or at a crypto ATM,
  • promises of high returns with low risk, and pressure to act fast,
  • a platform that shows your investment growing and allows small withdrawals, but finds reasons not to pay out the rest,
  • an “adviser” who says they do not need an AFS license,
  • messages that copy your exchange and ask for login details; an exchange will never ask for your password,
  • wallet signature requests that are not human readable.

If you have been scammed: contact your bank and the exchange at once to try to stop further payments, report the scam to the police through ReportCyber, and report it to Scamwatch, which uses reports to take down scam websites and ads and to warn others. IDCARE, the national identity and cyber support service, helps if your identity was misused. Moneysmart warns that crypto lost to a scam is likely gone, and Scamwatch warns that people offering to recover your money are usually running another scam. These bodies collect reports and can disrupt scams; they do not promise to get your money back.

Self-custody

We found no Australian rule that restricts or requires registration of private wallets. Moneysmart says a hardware wallet keeps your private keys on a device that is not connected to the internet, which can make it harder for hackers to reach. Crypto in your own wallet is taxed in the same way as crypto on an exchange (see personal tax).

The AML/CTF Act requires providers to report to AUSTRAC transfers involving self-hosted wallets that they have not verified (section 46A). Under the 2026 transitional rules this does not apply to a service that a provider began before 31 March 2029. Exchanges may still ask you to show that a wallet is yours. If you keep larger amounts of bitcoin yourself, this comparison of a single hardware wallet and a multisig setup explains what each protects against.

If you lose access

Moneysmart says each wallet has a private key, and “If you lose your private key, you usually lose the crypto.” Nobody can reset it for you. The ATO has a page on claiming a capital loss for lost or stolen crypto, which asks for evidence that you owned the crypto and lost access to it; we could not open that page for this review, so read it directly before you claim. What heirs and executors need to reach crypto after a death is covered in this guide to crypto inheritance in Australia.

Sources

The AUSTRAC and Scamwatch websites refused automated access in October 2026. We read their pages below through copies saved by the Internet Archive in September and October 2026, and used AUSTRAC’s public register directly.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the official sources above before you act.