The Australian Senate’s economics legislation committee has recommended the passage of the Corporations Amendment Bill 2025, which requires crypto platforms to obtain financial licences.
The Australian Senate Economics Legislation Committee has recommended the passage of the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, describing it as a “substantial improvement” to the regulation of digital assets in Australia. The committee’s report was published on Monday, March 16.
Under the bill, companies operating digital asset platforms or tokenised custody platforms would be treated on par with other financial service providers and would be required to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence. The legislation does not regulate the underlying technology, but focuses on intermediaries that hold client assets or facilitate trading operations.
The bill also introduces definitions for key concepts such as “digital tokens”, clarifies how existing financial services laws apply to crypto platforms, and establishes rules governing asset custody, transaction execution, and disclosure obligations towards retail clients. The framework would also set standards for the protection of client assets.
The bill was introduced by the Treasury in November 2025 and passed its third reading in the House of Representatives on February 4, 2026, before being transmitted to the Senate the following day. The committee then launched its own review, gathering input from industry stakeholders and publishing its report on Monday.
Submissions received by the committee included contributions from exchanges, fintech associations, and law firms. While stakeholders broadly welcomed the overall approach of the bill, several raised concerns about the breadth of certain definitions – particularly the terms “digital token”, “possession”, and “factual control” – warning that these could have unintended consequences for infrastructure providers or non-custodial services. The Treasury largely defended the existing draft, indicating that some issues relating to multi-party arrangements could be addressed through implementing regulations. If passed into law, the framework provides for a six-month transition period from its commencement for companies that do not already hold the required financial licences.
