Australia publishes draft law to swap crypto tax data with other countries and add domestic reporting

Summary

Australia’s Treasury opened consultation on Oct. 15 on draft legislation that would provide a framework to bring the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) into Australian law, introduce a domestic crypto asset reporting regime for transactions involving Australian residents, and update the existing Common Reporting Standard, according to Treasury’s consultation page and Cointelegraph.

Cointelegraph identified the draft as the Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Tax information reporting; Treasury has released an exposure draft and explanatory memorandum, and comments close on Oct. 28.

The Australian Taxation Office says the measure, announced on Dec. 17, 2025 in the 2025–26 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, is not yet law, and that Australia’s first exchange of information under CARF is expected to begin in 2028.

CARF is an OECD standard that lets participating jurisdictions collect and automatically exchange information on crypto-asset transactions involving each other’s tax residents, the ATO says; Cointelegraph reported Australia is among 77 jurisdictions committed to adopting it.

Key facts

• Treasury says the consultation builds on its earlier Crypto Asset Reporting Framework consultation. (Australian Treasury)
• The ATO says the Common Reporting Standard amendments modernize the standard to complement CARF and strengthen due diligence and reporting requirements for financial institutions. (Australian Taxation Office)
• Cointelegraph said Australia first signaled its intention to implement CARF in November 2023 and consulted on its approach in late 2024. (Cointelegraph)
• Cointelegraph said the OECD approved CARF in August 2022 to address tax evasion risks from the growth of crypto assets. (Cointelegraph)