Headline: Australian Senate Committee backs bill to fold crypto custodians and exchanges into financial-services rules
The Senate Economics Legislation Committee has thrown its weight behind the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, in a report published Monday, setting the stage for a major update to how Australia supervises crypto platforms and custody providers.
What the bill does
- The draft law would amend the Corporations Act 2001 and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 to create a licensing and compliance regime for digital token managers.
- Rather than regulating blockchains themselves, the framework targets firms that hold digital assets on behalf of customers—bringing custodians, exchanges and other token managers squarely under established financial-services rules.
- If passed, businesses that do not already hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) would have six months to obtain authorization and meet the new compliance requirements.
Why it matters
- The committee framed the Bill as a modernization of digital-asset oversight that layers traditional market safeguards onto crypto services, with consumer protection as a central objective.
- For industry participants, the changes promise clearer legal status and standards for custody and trading services; for regulators and users, they aim to reduce operational and counterparty risk by applying familiar supervision and disclosure obligations.
Existing obligations
- Crypto exchanges operating in Australia are already required to register with the country’s financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, as digital currency providers before offering exchange services—this Bill would add a parallel licensing/compliance overlay specific to financial-services regulation.
Next steps
- The committee’s endorsement advances the Bill through the parliamentary process, but it must still be passed by both houses and receive royal assent before becoming law. If enacted, the six-month compliance clock would begin for firms without an AFSL.
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