Australia's Senate Economics Legislation Committee has endorsed the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, a measure that would force crypto exchanges and custody providers to obtain Australian Financial Services Licences (AFSLs) or stop operating within six months of the law taking effect.
The committee published its recommendation on March 16, 2026, backing a bill first introduced by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino in November 2025. The legislation now moves to the full Senate for debate and a final vote.
What the Bill Actually Requires
The bill amends the Corporations Act 2001 and the ASIC Act 2001 to bring two categories of firms under financial services regulation: Digital Asset Platforms (DAPs), which includes most centralized exchanges, and Tokenised Custody Platforms (TCPs), which covers businesses holding client crypto assets.
Licensed platforms would need to meet ASIC-set custody and settlement standards, comply with tailored disclosure rules for retail clients, and operate under platform-specific conduct and governance requirements. The framework targets the entity holding client funds, not the underlying blockchain infrastructure itself.
There is an exemption. Smaller providers with annual transaction volumes under AUD 10 million (roughly $7 million) and some public blockchain infrastructure providers are carved out. Everyone else has six months from royal assent to obtain the required AFSL or face enforcement.
Australia's crypto exchanges already register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) as digital currency providers. This bill layers financial services licensing on top of that existing AML/CTF registration, creating a dual-compliance requirement.
The Industry Response Is Split
Coinbase Australia welcomed the committee's recommendation as "an important step for Australia's standing in the global digital economy." But the company used the same statement to flag a problem the bill does not address: debanking. Coinbase warned that "the anti-competitive practice of debanking is rampant despite government endorsement of measures back in 2022."
Debanking, where traditional banks close or refuse accounts for crypto firms, has been a persistent issue in Australia. A licensing regime legitimizes the industry on paper, but if banks continue refusing to serve licensed crypto firms, the license becomes a compliance cost with limited practical benefit.
Ripple Labs supported the bill's control-based regulatory approach but pushed for tighter definitions. The company urged clarification that "factual control" should require unilateral asset transfer capability without client cooperation. That distinction matters: it determines whether a firm that holds one of several keys in a multi-signature setup is classified as a custodian.
Law firm Piper Alderman raised a broader concern. The firm warned that the bill's definitions of "digital token" and "factual control" are broad enough to inadvertently capture wallet software providers and MPC (multi-party computation) infrastructure companies. A wallet that never touches client funds could still fall under the licensing regime depending on how regulators interpret "factual control."
The committee acknowledged these concerns but sided with Treasury's approach: refine the regulatory perimeter through future regulations rather than rewrite the core definitions now.
Why This Matters Beyond Australia
Australia is the latest G20 economy to formalize crypto licensing, joining the EU (MiCA, fully effective June 2026), Singapore (Payment Services Act amendments), Hong Kong (VASP licensing since June 2023), and Japan (revised Payment Services Act).
The pattern across all of these frameworks is converging: license the intermediary, not the technology. Custody providers, exchanges, and platforms that hold client assets face the strictest requirements. Self-custody wallets and public blockchain infrastructure generally remain outside the regulatory perimeter, though the definitional gray areas Piper Alderman flagged show that line is not always clean.
For crypto card providers operating in Australia, this bill introduces a new licensing requirement on top of existing AUSTRAC registration. Any issuer or platform that holds digital assets on behalf of Australian users would need an AFSL, adding capital requirements, disclosure obligations, and governance standards. Smaller operations under the $7 million threshold get breathing room, but any card provider processing meaningful volume will need to budget for compliance.
The Australian crypto market has roughly 4.6 million holders, and the exchange market generates an estimated AUD 470 million in annual revenue. The six-month compliance window is tight by international standards. The EU gave firms 18 months under MiCA's transitional provisions, and Hong Kong offered a 12-month grace period.
What Happens Next
The bill goes to the full Senate for debate. If passed, it then moves to the House of Representatives. Royal assent starts the six-month clock.
The committee chose to leave definitional ambiguities for Treasury to resolve through subordinate regulations, which means the exact scope of "factual control" and "digital token" will likely be contested in consultation rounds even after the bill becomes law.
Bitcoin was trading at $73,336 as of March 16, 2026, up 2.2% in 24 hours and 8% over the past week. The market's Fear and Greed Index sat at 40 (Neutral). Australian regulatory developments have historically had limited impact on global crypto prices, and the committee endorsement did not move markets.
Overview
Australia's Senate Economics Legislation Committee has backed the Digital Assets Framework Bill, which requires crypto exchanges and custody providers to obtain Australian Financial Services Licences within six months of the law passing. Firms under AUD 10 million ($7 million) in annual transaction volume are exempt. Coinbase welcomed the bill but flagged ongoing debanking as an unresolved problem. Ripple and law firm Piper Alderman warned that broad definitions could capture wallet software and MPC providers. The bill now goes to the full Senate for debate.
