Announcement date
26 November 2025
Link to announcement
Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 – Parliament of Australia
Problem being addressed
Some digital assets already fall within Australia’s existing legal and regulatory frameworks. Despite this existing coverage, failures of digital asset intermediaries have caused major losses for consumers, including in Australia. While some of these intermediaries are already regulated, a gap exists when intermediaries hold large volumes of digital assets that are not financial products.
Outside the digital asset space, this ‘gap’ has not been a major concern, but digital tokens make it far easier to transfer and pool assets at speed and at scale – leading in more than one case, to billions of dollars in client assets being held by a single unregulated intermediary. The consequences for consumers are clear: frozen withdrawals, insolvency proceedings, commingling with provider funds, undisclosed proprietary trading, weak governance and disclosure, fraud, and cyber theft. These harms are symptomatic of large, unregulated custodial arrangements.
Further, broad financial product definitions have created significant uncertainty about the regulatory status of some digital asset products and services. This lack of clarity has left many participants unsure of how to operate under Australian law, limiting the sector’s capacity to innovate and grow.
Proposal
The government’s policy response aims to manage key risks in digital asset markets and address regulatory uncertainty. Treasury has considered three options:
- Option 1: Maintain the status quo
- Option 2: Regulate digital asset platforms
- Option 3: Establish a bespoke digital assets framework
The preferred option (Option 2) would extent established financial services regulatory frameworks to intermediaries that act as custodians for consumer assets. Option 2’s anticipated economic, industry and consumer benefits are expected to outweigh annual regulatory costs of approximately $28.4 million per annum for regulated businesses over time. Clear, proportionate regulation that is time-tested and understood will unlock significant economic and innovation opportunities for Australia. For example, industry estimates suggest the potential for 700-1,000 new start-ups each year and attracting $15-20 billion in annual investment. This will accelerate innovation adoption across the financial sector and other industries such as agriculture, energy, and the creative sector, further driving productivity.
Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Adequate
Assessment comments
The quality of the analysis in the IA is Adequate. To be considered ‘Good practice’ as per the Australian Government Guide to Policy Impact Analysis, the IA would have benefitted from a more in-depth evaluation approach.
Regulatory burden
The Treasury estimates Option 2 will increase average regulatory costs by $28.4 million per year, over ten years.