Australia: crypto and stablecoin regulation (as of 1 November 2026)

As of 2026-11-01

In Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) updated Information Sheet 225 (INFO 225) on 29 October 2025 to clarify how existing laws apply to digital assets. ASIC considers stablecoins, wrapped tokens, tokenised securities and digital asset wallets to be among the digital asset products that are financial products, and considers that certain stablecoins are likely to be a non-cash payment facility; these are ASIC views in its guidance. On 9 December 2025 ASIC granted class relief to intermediaries engaging in the secondary distribution of certain stablecoins and wrapped tokens. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 passed Parliament on 1 April 2026, received Royal Assent on 8 April 2026 and, under its s 2, commences the day after the end of the 12 months beginning on the day of Royal Assent: 8 April 2027 per the Federal Register (ASIC gives 9 April 2027); it introduces digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms as financial products whose operators need an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence. Treasury consulted from 12 March to 9 April 2026 on draft legislation for payment service providers under which tokenised stored value facilities, such as stablecoins, would be regulated as financial products; that draft is a proposal, not law. The rows marked as proposed quote the Treasury exposure draft materials.

This page states what the government sources say. It is not legal advice.

Status as of 1 November 2026

Status	Rule	Since / from	Source
Published	ASIC Information Sheet 225 "Digital assets: Financial products and services", updated: ASIC clarified how existing laws apply to digital assets. Stablecoins, wrapped tokens, tokenised securities and digital asset wallets are among the digital asset products that ASIC considers to be financial products in its updated guidance.	29 October 2025	ASIC, ASIC INFO 225
Published	ASIC Corporations (Stablecoin and Wrapped Token Relief) Instrument 2025/867: class relief from the Corporations Act for distributors of eligible stablecoins from the requirement to hold an AFS licence, an Australian market licence and/or a CS facility licence. ASIC expanded eligible stablecoins and wrapped tokens to include those whose issuers have applied for a licence to issue the financial product. On 4 May 2026 ASIC said these relief instruments remain in place as part of the transition to the new digital asset and payments services licensing reforms.	9 December 2025 (announced)	ASIC, ASIC INFO 225, ASIC
Statement	ASIC no-action position: under it, firms needed to apply for a licence (or, for markets or CS facility licences, notify ASIC that they intend to apply) by 30 June 2026. ASIC warns that unlicensed conduct carries serious civil and criminal penalties, including fines that could reach up to 10% of annual turnover.	30 June 2026 (application date)	ASIC
Pending	Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 (DAF Act): passed Parliament on 1 April 2026 and received Royal Assent on 8 April 2026. It introduces two new types of financial products, digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms, which will need to hold an AFS licence. Section 2 commences the whole Act "the day after the end of the period of 12 months beginning on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent"; the Federal Register table gives 8 April 2027, and ASIC gives 9 April 2027.	8 April 2027 (commencement per s 2 and the Federal Register; ASIC: 9 April 2027)	Federal Register of Legislation, ASIC, Treasury
Proposed	Regulation of Payment Service Providers, Tranche 1 draft legislation (Treasury exposure draft, consultation c2026-746108): tokenised stored value facilities (SVFs), such as stablecoins, would be regulated as financial products. Treasury says stakeholder feedback will be considered in finalising the legislation for introduction in 2026. Not law.	Consultation 12 March 2026 to 9 April 2026	Treasury consultation, Treasury fact sheet

Key rules

Non-cash payment facility (ASIC INFO 225). ASIC considers that certain stablecoins are likely to be a non-cash payment facility. (ASIC INFO 225)
Reference currency (ASIC INFO 225, Example 18). In ASIC's worked example, the currency to which the stablecoin is linked does not change the financial product status of the stablecoin. (ASIC INFO 225)
Yield-bearing stablecoin (ASIC INFO 225, Example 6). In ASIC's hypothetical worked example of a yield-bearing stablecoin, Company E's digital asset is likely to be an interest in a managed investment scheme. (ASIC INFO 225)
Distribution relief (ASIC). ASIC granted class relief to distributors of eligible stablecoins from the requirement to hold an AFS licence, an Australian market licence and/or a CS facility licence (Instrument 2025/867). (ASIC INFO 225)
Platforms (DAF Act). Digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms become two new types of financial products, and these platforms will need to hold an AFS licence. (Treasury)
Tokens and facilities (exposure draft, proposed). Tokenised SVFs, such as stablecoins, would be financial products; the digital tokens attached to rights under tokenised SVFs would not themselves be financial products. (Treasury fact sheet)
Interest (exposure draft, proposed). An SVF provider would commit an offence if it pays, or under the terms of the facility is able to pay, interest or interest-like benefits in connection with an amount standing to the credit of an SVF it issued. (Treasury explanatory memorandum)
Redemption (exposure draft, proposed). A tokenised SVF provider would commit an offence if it unreasonably restricts a person who possesses a digital token attached to a tokenised SVF it issued from exercising the right to redeem an amount from the tokenised SVF. (Treasury explanatory memorandum)
Safeguarding (exposure draft, proposed). For payment service providers solely regulated by ASIC, the default method would require them to segregate and hold funds in a trust account with an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI). (Treasury fact sheet)
Prudential regime (exposure draft, proposed). A new prudential regime would apply to major SVF providers, including tokenised SVF providers, who hold $200 million or more in stored value (on a corporate group aggregate basis) and enable users to redeem funds in Australian currency. (Treasury fact sheet)
No Financial Claims Scheme (exposure draft, proposed). The fact sheet states that SVF accounts are not protected by the Financial Claims Scheme. (Treasury fact sheet)
Graduated framework (Treasury). Treasury describes a graduated regulatory framework for stored value facilities like prepaid accounts, stablecoin issuers or wallets that hold customer funds. (Treasury)

Timeline

Date	Event	Source
9 October 2025	Treasury release on draft legislation to modernise the regulation of payment service providers, including stored value facilities	Treasury
29 October 2025	ASIC updates INFO 225	ASIC
26 November 2025	Government introduces the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 to Parliament	Treasury
9 December 2025	ASIC announces class relief for secondary distribution of certain stablecoins and wrapped tokens	ASIC
12 March 2026	Treasury consultation on the Tranche 1 payment service provider draft legislation opens	Treasury consultation
1 April 2026	DAF Act passes Parliament	ASIC
8 April 2026	DAF Act receives Royal Assent	ASIC
9 April 2026	Treasury consultation closes	Treasury consultation
4 May 2026	ASIC reminds digital asset businesses to apply for a licence by 30 June 2026	ASIC
30 June 2026	Application date under the ASIC no-action position	ASIC
8 April 2027	DAF Act commences (s 2 and the Federal Register; ASIC gives 9 April 2027)	Federal Register of Legislation, ASIC

Not covered here

The payment service provider legislation on tokenised stored value facilities was not found introduced in Parliament in the sources this page uses; final exemption and exclusion regulations are, per Treasury, to be finalised after the legislation passes. The texts of the DAF Act and of ASIC Instruments 2025/867 and 2025/871 were not read; the rows describe them from ASIC and Treasury pages. No stablecoin issuer register was found, and ASIC's professional registers of AFS licensees were not read. ASIC says INFO 225 may be updated when the reforms are finalised. The in-force text of ASIC Corporations (Stablecoin and Wrapped Token Relief) Instrument 2025/867 and ASIC Instrument 2025/631 are not quoted on this page yet.

Sources

Updated: 2026-11-01 · Markdown version