In brief
- Australian regulators announced priorities Wednesday focusing on digital currencies and cash-intensive businesses as top money laundering threats.
- The agency will bring 80,000 new businesses under anti-money laundering laws starting July 2026 in Australia’s biggest regulatory expansion.
- CEO Brendan Thomas signals shift from compliance checks to targeting “substantive risks and harms” at industry level.
Australia’s financial intelligence agency declared crypto a top threat in its financial crime crackdown Wednesday, announcing regulatory priorities that mark the “most ambitious overhaul of Australia’s anti-money laundering laws in a generation.”
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre CEO Brendan Thomas said the agency would prioritize enforcement where “the risk of harm is greatest,” highlighting digital currency exchanges and virtual asset service providers that facilitate instantaneous global transfers.
“This year marks a regulatory shift – from regulation that primarily checks for compliance to one focussed on substantive risks and harms,” Thomas said in Wednesday’s statement.
The expanded regulatory net will capture approximately 80,000 new businesses under so-called “tranche 2” industries including real estate agents, lawyers, conveyancers, accountants, trust and company service providers, and dealers in precious metals and stones.
Current reporting entities face new obligations from March 31, 2026, while tranche 2 entities must comply by July 1, 2026.
Digital currencies emerged as a particular concern for regulators due to their cross-border capabilities, according to Thomas.
Industry leaders have welcomed increased regulatory clarity, though concerns remain about implementation timelines and access to traditional banking services for digital asset firms.
“Treasury’s digital asset regime is coming, but speed is everything,” OKX Australia CEO Kate Cooper previously told Decrypt. “Clear rules will unlock capital and confidence,” she added, while pointing to licensing clarity and debanking issues as key barriers to digital finance adoption.
However, some industry experts view the regulatory evolution positively.
“Australia has largely been pro-crypto & digital assets,” Manhar Garegrat, country head for India & Global Partnerships, at digital asset custody platform Liminal, told Decrypt.
Garegrat acknowledged that “as with all new technologies, there are definitive risks with digital assets too, but Australia is looking at handling those risks head on” and will “very likely work alongside the industry to mitigate those risks, rather than looking to curb or stall business activity.”
The regulatory push comes amid significant developments in Australia’s digital asset sector.
In May, the government appointed Andrew Charlton as Assistant Minister for Science, Technology, and the Digital Economy to help cement its digital asset regulation agenda.
Meanwhile, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has recently approved 14 firms to pilot real-money transactions using central bank digital currency and stablecoins in Project Acacia, with testing running for six months and findings to be published in Q1 2026..
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