Australia’s government, under its ruling center-left Labor Party, has proposed a new crypto framework regulating exchanges under existing financial services laws and has promised to tackle debanking.
It comes ahead of a federal election slated to be held on or before May 17, which current polling shows is shaping up to a dead heat between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor and the opposing Coalition led by Peter Dutton.
The Treasury Department said in a March 21 statement that crypto exchanges, custody services and some brokerage firms that trade or store crypto will come under the new laws.
The regime imposes similar compliance requirements as other financial services in the country, such as following rules safeguarding customer assets, obtaining an Australian Financial Services Licence and meeting minimum capital requirements.
In August 2022, the government initiated a series of industry consultations to draft a crypto regulatory framework.
“Our legislative reforms will extend existing financial services laws to key digital asset platforms, but not to all of the digital asset ecosystem,” the Treasury said in its statement.
Small-scale and startup platforms that don’t meet specific size thresholds will be exempt, along with firms that develop blockchain-related software or create digital assets that aren’t financial products.
Payment stablecoins will be treated as a type of stored-value facility under the Government’s Payments Licensing Reforms; however, some stablecoins and wrapped tokens will be exempt.
“Dealing or secondary market trading in these products will be not treated as a dealing activity, and platforms where they are traded will not be treated as operating a market simply because of that trading activity,” the Treasury said.
As part of its crypto agenda, Albanese’s government has also promised to work with Australia’s four largest banks to better understand the extent and nature of de-banking.
There will also be a review into a central bank digital currency and an Enhanced Regulatory Sandbox in 2025, allowing businesses to test new financial products without needing a license.
Albanese’s government intends to release a draft of the legislation for public consultation. However, a change of government could be on the horizon with a looming federal election, a date for which is yet to be called.