Senate committee backs licensing bill to require AFSL and custody safeguards for crypto platforms

The Senate Economics Legislation Committee said the proposed legislation would modernize Australia’s digital‑asset regulatory framework by subjecting certain crypto activities to existing financial‑services law, marking formal committee backing for the reforms ^{[1] [2]}.

Key elements of the proposal would require crypto exchanges, custodians and tokenization platforms that hold client tokens to obtain licences and meet new asset‑safeguarding standards, effectively bringing those operators under the Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) regime ^{[3] [4]}.

Observers and coverage describe the committee’s support as part of a broader regulatory push in Canberra to tighten oversight of digital‑asset providers and impose licensing and custody safeguards on platforms that hold client assets ^{[3] [1]}.

If enacted, the bill would place token‑holding operators under the AFSL regime and impose licensing and asset‑protection requirements on exchanges, custodians and tokenization platforms ^{[4] [3] [1]}.