Australia drafts a law to report crypto trades to the tax office and swap them with other countries from 2028, with two weeks for the industry to object

Australia has put the text on the table. The Treasury on Thursday opened a consultation on draft legislation to bring the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, known as CARF, into Australian law. The draft, titled "Crypto asset tax transparency", also introduces a domestic crypto reporting regime for transactions involving Australian residents and updates the existing Common Reporting Standard, the system banks already use to share account data across borders. Submissions close on October 28.

CARF is the OECD's answer to the gap crypto opened in international tax enforcement. Approved by the OECD in August 2022 to address tax evasion risks from the growing use of crypto, it lets tax authorities exchange crypto transaction data automatically, the way they already do for bank accounts under the Common Reporting Standard. Cointelegraph reported that Australia is one of 77 jurisdictions committed to the framework and that the first international exchanges are expected in 2028. Canberra signalled its intention in November 2023, consulted on its approach in late 2024 and announced the measure in the 2025-26 mid-year budget update.

The practical effect is a domestic reporting regime covering transactions involving Australian residents, and a pipeline for Australia to receive data from abroad on residents who use foreign platforms. The consultation page does not spell out start dates, thresholds or penalties; those sit in the exposure draft and explanatory memorandum, and submissions go through the Treasury's consultation site.

The window is short. Comments close on October 28, and the first cross-border exchanges are pencilled in for 2028.