Crypto regulation in Australia
Two regulators matter. AUSTRAC registers exchanges today for anti-money-laundering purposes — it's the minimum bar, and the reason every platform on this site is AUSTRAC-registered. ASIC takes over consumer protection under the Digital Assets Framework: assented 8 April 2026, platforms must hold an Australian Financial Services Licence when the regime commences on 9 April 2027. Neither registration nor a licence makes an exchange risk-free — but they determine who is accountable when something goes wrong.
Live status of every listed platform's Australian Financial Services Licence — licensed, application lodged, transitional relief, or none known. Refreshed automatically from primary sources.
Our listing policyWhy AUSTRAC registration is our minimum bar for listing an exchange, and what that registration does — and does not — mean for your money.
Tax & law hubThe other half of the compliance picture: how the ATO taxes crypto and the software that does the calculations.
Primary sources
- → ASIC — crypto and digital assets
- → AUSTRAC — digital currency exchange register
- → Federal Register of Legislation
The transition, in plain English
Three gates closed in quick succession: AUSTRAC's reformed AML rules brought the Travel Rule into force on 1 July (crypto transfers now carry sender and recipient details), registration under the new VASP regime closed on 29 July, and platforms wanting transitional relief must lodge their AFSL application by 30 September 2026 — a deadline ASIC extended from 30 June. The tracker counts it down live.
From 9 April 2027, holding your crypto on an unlicensed platform stops being a judgement call and becomes impossible — platforms either hold an AFSL, operate under a pending application, or exit Australia. Licensing brings capital, custody and dispute-resolution obligations that today's registration regime never imposed. It won't make crypto safe; it will make platforms accountable.
General information only, not legal or financial advice.