By Tom Whitfield

Australia has released a draft bill to adopt the OECD's crypto-asset reporting framework, moving the country closer to automatic international sharing of crypto tax data. The Treasury published the exposure draft as a consultation step, inviting stakeholders to comment before the legislation reaches Parliament.

The OECD framework, known as the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), sets out a standard for reporting crypto transactions to tax authorities. More than 45 jurisdictions have committed to implementing CARF, with first data exchanges targeted from 2027. Australia's draft bill signals it intends to join that schedule rather than fall outside the multilateral reporting net.

What does the draft bill actually do?

The legislation transposes the OECD reporting standard into Australian law. Under CARF-aligned rules, crypto service providers — exchanges, brokers and custodians — must collect information on their users and report transaction data to the tax authority. That authority then exchanges the data automatically with tax authorities in partner jurisdictions.

The draft law covers gross amounts of crypto transfers, sales and exchanges, alongside user identification details. It targets offshore visibility: Australian residents trading on foreign platforms will become visible to the Australian Taxation Office through automatic exchange, closing a gap that self-reporting has left open.

Australia's existing tax rules already treat crypto as an asset subject to capital gains tax on disposal. The draft bill does not change that treatment. What changes is the reporting infrastructure around it — the ATO gains a systematic data feed instead of relying on audits and voluntary disclosure.

Why does the timing matter?

The OECD finalized CARF in 2022 alongside an updated Common Reporting Standard. Jurisdictions committed to the framework target exchanges of 2027 data in early 2028, which means enabling legislation must pass well before then. Australia's consultation step starts that clock.

Exchanges operating in Australia will face new compliance obligations: customer due diligence, annual reporting cycles and data-quality standards aligned across the CARF signatory group. Providers that already serve multiple jurisdictions will see reporting requirements converge on a single standard, reducing fragmentation — but raising the cost of servicing smaller markets.

What happens next?

The consultation period lets industry groups, exchanges and tax professionals submit feedback on the draft text. After consultation closes, the government will finalize the bill for introduction to Parliament. Implementation deadlines will then anchor to the international exchange timetable, giving crypto service providers operating in Australia a fixed window to build CARF-compliant reporting systems before the first data-sharing cycle begins.