Australia Senate Panel Backs Crypto Framework in Latest Regulatory Push
An Australian Senate committee has delivered its report on the government’s proposed regulatory framework for digital assets, backing legislation that would bring crypto platforms and custody services under the country’s financial services regime.
The Senate Economic Legislation Committee said the bill represents a step toward modernizing digital asset oversight, an industry that lawmakers say is growing rapidly but remains unevenly regulated.
The move builds on previous moves by Australian regulators, including mandatory AUSTRAC registration for crypto exchanges and Treasury consultations aimed at integrating digital asset platforms as part of the country’s financial services.
THE propose The Corporations Digital Assets Framework Amendment Bill 2025, published on Sunday, would amend the Corporations Act and the ASIC Act to create a licensing and compliance regime for businesses that hold or manage digital tokens on behalf of clients.
Under this framework, operators of digital asset platforms and tokenized custody services would generally be required to hold an Australian financial services license, comply with asset protection standards and meet disclosure requirements when onboarding retail clients.
Lawmakers said the changes were aimed at closing regulatory loopholes that currently allow companies to hold large amounts of customers’ digital assets without the safeguards required in traditional finance.
The legislation defines core concepts such as “digital tokens”, “digital asset platforms” and “tokenized custody platforms”, aiming to subject intermediaries dealing with client assets to existing financial services legislation rather than regulating blockchain technology itself.
If passed, the regime would include a six-month transition period for providers who do not already hold an Australian financial services license.
Ripple seeks Australian financial license to ‘expand’ payments across region
Industry groups generally welcomed the move toward clearer regulations. OKX Australia CEO Kate Cooper said Decrypt that clearer rules could help strengthen economic gains.
“Legislative clarity could provide the basis for a significant increase in productivity standards in Australia,” Cooper said, citing a study by the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Center and the Digital Economy Council of Australia, which estimates digital finance innovation could bring up to $24 billion a year, or about 1% of GDP, to the economy.
She added that digital asset platforms support stricter safeguards on how client assets are held while allowing Australian businesses to access global blockchain technology within a regulated framework.
The bill will now move through the next stages of the parliamentary process as lawmakers consider the final adoption of Australia’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for digital asset platforms.
