Australia Drafts CARF Crypto Tax Reporting Rules

Australia has released draft legislation that would bring the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework into domestic tax law, creating a new reporting system for crypto transactions ahead of international data exchanges beginning in 2028. The proposal would require qualifying crypto-asset service providers to collect tax-relevant customer and transaction information and report it to the Australian Taxation Office.

The Australian Treasury consultation opened on October 15 and remains available for submissions through October 28. Alongside CARF, the draft would create a separate domestic reporting regime for transactions involving Australian residents and update Australia’s existing Common Reporting Standard. The exposure draft is a consultation document rather than enacted law, so its provisions remain subject to legislative change.

The government’s 2025–26 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook sets the operating timetable more precisely. Both the CARF framework and domestic crypto reporting regime are scheduled to commence in 2027, with the first international exchange of information and first domestic reporting to the ATO occurring in 2028. The government estimates the two measures will raise A$170 million in additional receipts over five years while requiring A$57.6 million in implementation spending.

Crypto Platforms Face New Customer Reporting Duties

CARF applies to Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers, or RCASPs, that as a business facilitate qualifying exchange transactions for or on behalf of customers. Under the OECD framework, the reporting perimeter is determined by what a provider actually does rather than simply whether it operates a crypto wallet, application or blockchain protocol.

Relevant activity broadly includes exchanges between crypto assets and fiat currency, crypto-to-crypto exchanges and transfers of covered crypto assets. Providers must identify reportable users and collect information including tax residence and taxpayer identification details alongside transaction data. CARF is designed to give tax authorities visibility into activity that can occur outside the traditional financial-account system already covered by CRS.

Treasury’s earlier consultation identified Bitcoin, stablecoins, crypto-based derivatives and certain NFTs as examples that can fall within the framework, subject to the CARF definitions and exclusions. Central bank digital currencies and certain qualifying electronic-money products fall outside CARF because related reporting is addressed through the amended CRS. The framework therefore divides digital financial assets between reporting regimes rather than treating every blockchain-based instrument identically.

Australia’s implementation follows similar work elsewhere, including Hong Kong’s CARF consultation and planned 2028 information exchanges. Industry responses there have already highlighted the operational burden of customer identification, record retention and cross-border reporting, illustrating the type of compliance systems Australian providers may also need to develop.

Australia Joins a 77-Jurisdiction Reporting Network

Australia first joined an international statement supporting CARF in November 2023 and consulted on implementation between November 2024 and January 2025. Its latest formal timetable places Australia in the group of jurisdictions undertaking their first automatic CARF exchanges by 2028 rather than the earlier 2027 target.

The OECD Global Forum now lists 77 jurisdictions committed to implementing CARF with first exchanges scheduled across 2027, 2028 or 2029. The network is intended to allow one tax authority to receive information about its residents’ crypto activity from participating foreign jurisdictions, extending an information-sharing model already established for conventional financial accounts.

That tax-transparency layer will operate separately from Australia’s increasingly developed licensing and AML framework. The country has already been moving toward a more formal digital-asset regulatory perimeter, with Australian crypto businesses preparing for broader licensing and compliance requirements alongside AUSTRAC’s expanded AML obligations. CARF does not license crypto businesses or determine whether their products are permissible; it establishes tax-information collection and exchange obligations.

For exchanges and other businesses ultimately classified as RCASPs, the main operational change begins before the first international transfer of data. A 2028 exchange means providers need systems capable of identifying tax residence, maintaining appropriate customer records and capturing reportable 2027 transactions before information reaches the ATO. The October consultation will now determine how closely Australia’s final legislation follows the OECD model and how the domestic reporting layer operates alongside it.