Treasury is consulting on exposure draft legislation that would bring the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) into Australian law, create a new domestic crypto reporting regime for virtual asset service providers and update the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Submissions closed 28 October 2026.
Where things stand
On 15 October 2026, Treasury released the exposure draft Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Tax Information Reporting (Bill) and accompanying explanatory materials. The package delivers measures announced in the 2025-26 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) on 17 December 2025. It is based on Treasury’s November 2024 consultation paper on the CARF. The measures are not yet law.
The draft Bill amends Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) (TAA) and has three parts:
(a) A framework to implement the CARF
The OECD CARF is an international standard for collecting crypto-asset transaction information and automatically exchanging it between tax authorities. Rather than legislating the CARF itself, the draft Bill creates a general mechanism. Regulations would prescribe the international frameworks Australia joins, and the Minister would set the detailed reporting rules by legislative instrument. The detail (who reports, what is reported, due diligence and penalties) is left to those rules, which are still to come. Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers would collect information for the 2027 calendar year, with first reports due to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in 2028.
(b) A new Domestic Crypto Reporting Regime (DCRR)
Certain entities that provide registrable designated services under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) with respect to virtual assets would report to the ATO on exchanges and transfers of virtual assets by or for Australian resident users. These include businesses that exchange virtual assets for money or other virtual assets, provide safekeeping services, or accept instructions to transfer virtual assets on behalf of customers. Reports would include identification details for the entity and its users, plus transaction-level data such as the asset name, date and time, Australian dollar value and transaction IDs.
The DCRR would apply to transactions from 1 July 2027. Reporting is intended to be quarterly, defaulting to a financial year if no instrument is made, with reports due 31 days after the end of each period. The DCRR would be implemented alongside the CARF to limit the additional compliance burden on domestic entities.
(c) Updates to the CRS
The draft Bill incorporates the OECD’s updated CRS into Australian law, effective 1 January 2027. The changes would:
- extend the CRS to certain e-money products, central bank digital currencies and crypto derivatives and crypto-investing entities
- require more information to be reported about each account and tighten self-certification rules
- remove scholarship plans from the excluded accounts
- apply the existing 1 penalty unit penalty to failures to validate a self-certification, including confirming it is reasonable, or to update due diligence after a change in circumstances (generally within 90 days).
Why reform is being considered
Crypto assets can be held and transferred without traditional financial intermediaries, so the ATO doesn’t have full visibility of crypto transactions, income or holdings. The ATO’s existing data matching program varies between providers and doesn’t capture holdings with foreign providers. The CARF and CRS changes would make Australia an active participant in international exchange of crypto tax information and in global efforts to deter offshore tax evasion.
Who should take note
- Digital currency exchanges, custodians and other virtual asset service providers, which are likely to face both CARF and DCRR obligations, with systems, onboarding and data collection changes needed ahead of 2027.
- All CRS Reporting Financial Institutions, whether they offer crypto products, and particularly those offering e-money, crypto-linked products or crypto-investing funds.
- Investors and businesses holding crypto assets, as the ATO will gain much greater visibility of their domestic and offshore crypto holdings and transactions.
What’s next
- 28 October 2026: submissions closed (via the Treasury consultation hub).
- 1 January 2027: proposed start of amended CRS obligations and the first CARF collection period.
- 1 July 2027: the DCRR would apply to transactions from this date (reporting intended to be quarterly).
- 2028: first CARF reports due to the ATO and Australia’s first CARF exchanges with overseas tax authorities.
Much of the detail will sit in regulations and a legislative instrument still to be made, so affected businesses should expect further consultation.
Affected entities should consider the interaction between the CARF and DCRR and on reporting formats, and implementation ahead of 2027.