Australia Releases Draft Bill to Adopt OECD Crypto Tax Reporting Framework
Key Takeaways
- •Australia's draft Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026 would bring crypto transactions involving service providers in the Australian market under automatic cross-border tax information exchange, similar to how conventional financial data is treated under the Common Reporting Standard.
- •The bill is open for public consultation until Oct. 28, and stakeholders have been invited to submit feedback on the proposal before that deadline.
- •The legislation would implement the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework in Australian law while also creating a domestic crypto reporting regime.
- •Australia is among 77 jurisdictions committed to adopting the CARF, with its first international exchanges of crypto tax data expected in 2028.
- •The draft reporting regime runs alongside Australia's separate crypto platform rules, which are scheduled to roll out from 2027, providing service providers with a staged regulatory timeline.
Australia has released draft legislation that would enable the automatic exchange of crypto tax information between countries, taking a key step toward implementing an international standard developed to combat tax evasion. If enacted, the bill would place crypto transactions involving service providers in the Australian market under the automatic cross-border exchange arrangements already used for conventional financial data under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
The draft bill, Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Tax information reporting, is open for public consultation until Oct. 28. According to the Australian Treasury, the legislation would establish a framework to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) in Australian law and introduce a domestic crypto reporting regime. Stakeholders have been invited to submit feedback on the proposal before the consultation deadline.
The OECD approved the CARF in August 2022 to address tax evasion risks arising from the growth of crypto assets. The standard is designed to complement the existing Common Reporting Standard (CRS), extending automatic information exchange arrangements to crypto assets. Under the framework, participating jurisdictions commit to collecting information on crypto transactions from service providers in their own markets and exchanging it automatically with counterpart countries. Australia is among 77 jurisdictions committed to adopting the CARF, with its first international exchanges of crypto tax data expected in 2028.
Australia first signaled its intention to implement the CARF in November 2023 and consulted on its proposed approach in late 2024. The government subsequently announced plans to implement both the CARF and a domestic crypto reporting regime in its 2025–26 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, with international exchanges of crypto tax information expected to begin in 2028. The draft reporting regime takes shape alongside Australia's separate push to set rules for crypto platforms, which is slated to roll out from 2027, giving service providers a clearly staged regulatory timeline across the coming years. The Oct. 28 consultation deadline is the next checkpoint for stakeholders to weigh in on the proposal.
Related: Australia seeks feedback on crypto platform rules ahead of 2027 rollout
Source: Cointelegraph
