Australia's Digital Assets Framework Bill Explained

What is the Digital Assets Framework Bill?

The Digital Assets Framework Bill is Australia's first dedicated law for regulating crypto platforms. Its full name is the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025.

Parliament passed it on 1 April 2026, and it received Royal Assent on 8 April 2026, becoming the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026. The framework formally commences on 9 April 2027, giving platforms an 18-month roadmap and a transitional period to get licensed.

The law amends the Corporations Act 2001. Instead of writing a brand-new rulebook for crypto, it folds digital asset businesses into the same financial services regime that already governs banks, brokers, and fund managers.

That is the single most important thing to understand about this bill. It treats the platforms you trade on like financial institutions. It does not reclassify your coins, and it does not touch your tax return.

What does the framework actually regulate?

The framework creates two new categories of regulated business. Both must hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) issued by ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Holding an AFSL is not a formality. A licensed platform has to act efficiently, honestly, and fairly, maintain proper governance, and avoid misleading or deceptive conduct. These are the same core obligations that apply to a stockbroker.

The headline consumer protection is the statutory trust. A licensed platform must hold your crypto on trust, which means the assets remain your legal property rather than the platform's. If the platform becomes insolvent, your holdings are protected and do not get swept up with the company's own funds. This is a direct response to global collapses like FTX, where customer assets and company assets were dangerously blurred.

Not every platform is caught. Smaller operators are exempt if they hold less than $5,000 per customer and facilitate less than $10 million in transactions a year. The framework is aimed at the platforms holding meaningful customer funds, not hobby-scale projects.

One thing the bill does not replace is anti-money-laundering law. Crypto exchanges still have to register with and report to AUSTRAC under the existing AML/CTF rules. That obligation sits alongside the new AFSL requirement, it is not folded into it.

Does the Digital Assets Framework change how my crypto is taxed?

No. The framework is financial services regulation, not tax law. The ATO's treatment of cryptocurrency is exactly the same the day after the framework commences as it was the day before.

In Australia, cryptocurrency is still taxed as a capital gains tax asset. When you dispose of crypto, by selling it, trading it for another coin, or spending it, you incur a capital gain or loss. When you earn crypto through staking or airdrops, you recognize ordinary income.

The 50% capital gains discount also still applies. If you hold a crypto asset for longer than 12 months before disposing of it, only half of your gain is added to your taxable income.

Nothing about the Digital Assets Framework changes Sarah's outcome. The discount, the brackets, and the way her gain is calculated are untouched. For a full breakdown of the rates, see our guide to Australia crypto tax rates. For more information, check out our complete guide to how cryptocurrency is taxed in Australia.

Remember, the framework is about who is allowed to hold your crypto and how, not about what you owe when you sell it.

What is changing for crypto taxes in Australia?

Your tax bill is genuinely getting more scrutiny, just not because of this bill. Three separate things are tightening at the same time, and it is easy to lump them in with the framework.

ATO data-matching: The ATO runs a crypto data-matching program that pulls records directly from Australian exchanges. It is increasingly focused on complex areas like token swaps, staking rewards, and DeFi activity. As a result, the ATO has more visibility into your trading than ever before.

The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF): Australia has committed to the OECD's global reporting standard. From 2026, CARF allows tax authorities to automatically share crypto account data across borders. If you use an overseas exchange, the ATO will increasingly see those holdings too.

A proposed change to the 50% CGT discount: The 2026-27 federal budget proposed replacing the 50% discount with an inflation-based discount from 1 July 2027, with a minimum 30% of long-term gains remaining taxable.

That third item is a proposal, not law. It has not passed Parliament, and the current 50% discount remains fully in place. Even under the proposal, assets acquired before July 2027 would keep the existing discount. It is worth watching, but it is not something to act on today, and it has nothing to do with the Digital Assets Framework.

What should crypto investors do now?

For most investors, the framework is good news that requires no action. Your exchange does the compliance work, and your assets get stronger legal protection. Still, a few habits make the tightening tax environment far easier to handle.

Check that your platform is getting licensed. As the transition period runs through to 2027, reputable Australian exchanges will be applying for an AFSL. A platform that is licensed and holds your assets in a statutory trust is a safer place to keep your crypto.

Keep your own records. A platform's data-matching report to the ATO is only as complete as the activity it can see. If you move crypto between wallets, use DeFi, or trade on more than one exchange, no single platform has your full picture. You are the system of record.

For each disposal, you want to track the date you acquired the asset, the date you disposed of it, your cost basis, your proceeds, and the resulting gain or loss in Australian dollars. The cleanest way to do this across multiple exchanges and wallets is with crypto tax software like CoinLedger, which connects to your accounts, reconciles your full transaction history, and calculates your CGT in AUD.

Don't panic about the proposed CGT change. It is not law. If you are holding for the long term, the 50% discount is still available, and getting your records in order now is the best preparation for any change later.

Stay ready for whatever the ATO sends your way

New rules for platforms mean cleaner data flowing to the ATO, and that makes accurate reporting on your end more important than ever.

CoinLedger connects to your Australian exchanges and wallets, imports your full transaction history, and calculates your capital gains and income in AUD, with the 50% discount applied automatically where you qualify. You can generate a complete crypto tax report in minutes.

Get started with a free CoinLedger account today. More than 700,000 investors around the world trust the platform to handle their crypto tax reporting.