Australia has released draft legislation to implement the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and introduce domestic crypto-asset reporting from July 2027. The proposals also expand the Common Reporting Standard to cover digital financial products and strengthen tax transparency and cross-border information exchange.
The Australian government released draft legislation on 15 October 2026 to implement the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), introducing domestic crypto-asset reporting and expanding Australia’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
The proposed Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026 aims to strengthen tax transparency and combat offshore tax evasion by requiring virtual asset service providers to report transaction details of Australian residents to the Commissioner of Taxation and broadening reporting requirements for foreign financial accounts. Additionally, the legislation updates the Common Reporting Standard to encompass modern financial products like central bank digital currencies, electronic money, and crypto derivatives.
Legislative architecture & CARF implementation
To give legal effect to the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), the Bill establishes a generic delegation mechanism under a new Subdivision 396-D in Schedule 1 to the TAA 1953:
- Regulation & instrument powers: The Governor-General is empowered to prescribe international cooperative reporting frameworks by regulation, while the Minister can issue legislative instruments detailing reporting rules, due diligence obligations, and reporting entities.
- “Point in Time” incorporation: External standards or agreements referenced in regulations are incorporated strictly at a single point in time, ensuring future OECD amendments cannot automatically alter domestic law without Australian regulatory action.
- Global information exchange: Under CARF, Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers must collect transaction data starting 1 January 2027, enabling automatic data exchanges between tax authorities globally in 2028 to detect hidden offshore crypto holdings.
Domestic crypto reporting regime (DCRR)
The Domestic Crypto-Asset Reporting Regime (DCRR) will operate alongside CARF to ensure the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) receives data on Australian tax residents’ domestic crypto activities that international exchanges may not capture.
It will apply to Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) offering registrable virtual asset services under the AML/CTF Act, including fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto exchanges, custody and safekeeping, transfers and related financial services.
Reporting requirements will cover VASP identifiers, including tax residence jurisdiction, TFN, ABN, AUSTRAC ID and addresses; customer details, including names, addresses, ABNs, bank account details and entity types; and transaction records, including asset names and former names, exact timestamps, AUD-equivalent values and transaction IDs.
Quarterly reporting is intended to begin on 1 July 2027, with reports due within 31 days after each reporting period ends.
Common reporting standard (CRS) scope expansion
The legislation incorporates the OECD’s 2022/2023 CRS updates into section 396-110 of the TAA 1953 to bring modern digital financial assets into account reporting:
- New in-scope products: The expanded scope will cover specified electronic money products representing digital fiat currencies, excluding pure fund transfer facilities. It will also include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) held for customers by depository institutions or central banks. Crypto derivatives that provide indirect exposure to crypto-assets will be covered. The rules will also apply to investment entities whose business or income is primarily linked to relevant crypto-assets.
- Due diligence & compliance rules: The proposed CRS changes will require financial institutions to report all tax residencies of account holders rather than apply treaty tie-breaker rules. They will introduce a USD 10,000 rolling 90-day average threshold to exempt low-value e-money and create exemptions for non-profit entities. Scholarship plans will be removed from the list of excluded accounts because they lack penalties for non-educational withdrawals. Reporting financial institutions may also face an administrative penalty of one penalty unit for failing to collect or validate required self-certifications or update records following a change in circumstances.
The consultation period on the draft legislation will close on 28 October 2026.
Data collection under CARF and the revised CRS will begin on 1 January 2027, with the first exchanges scheduled for 2028. The DCRR will apply to transactions from 1 July 2027.
