The report finds that a "clear public interest case to issue a retail CBDC has yet to emerge in Australia."

This assessment is partly informed by the observation that "Australians are generally well served by the capabilities and resilience of the current retail payments system."

In jurisdictions that have issued a retail CBDC or indicated that it is quite possible in coming years, the main motivations have less resonance in Australia. Nonetheless, the RBA and Treasury remain "open to the possibility that this assessment could change over time as potential benefits and costs are better understood, both internationally and in a domestic context."

The report also highlights the role that a wholesale CBDC, alongside other forms of digital money and infrastructure upgrades, could play in enhancing the functioning of wholesale markets in Australia.

The paper looks at the merits of introducing a retail CBDC, focusing on the extent to which consumers would value having access to a digital form of money that is safer and potentially more private than commercial bank deposits. 

The government is consulting on a licensing framework for payment service providers (PSPs). The proposed reforms aim to ensure the regulation of payment services is "fit-for-purpose and provides consistent regulation based on the activity a payment service provider performs."

This paper is the second on the proposed framework, and follows the first consultation paper released in June 2023 that sought feedback on the proposed list of payment functions to be licensed. The proposed regulatory framework outlined in this paper includes an updated list of payment functions and leverages the Australian Financial Services framework to regulate PSPs.

In addition, the framework proposes:

• a set of regulatory requirements to facilitate greater access to payment systems
• graduated regulatory requirements for stored-value facilities including payment stablecoins
• a framework for industry standard-setting 
• a new rule-making power to enable the introduction of a mandatory revised ePayments code to provide enhanced consumer protections.

Deadline for comments is 2 February 2024.

“Today’s announcement of co‑ordinated international action on cryptoassets is a major step forward, marking another important milestone towards the widespread and co-ordinated approach to combat tax evasion through greater transparency and exchange of information,” Secretary-General Cormann said.

“We strongly welcome the extensive support being shown for quick action to make the international exchange of information collected under the OECD standard on cryptoasset reporting a reality. The international community can count on the OECD and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes to ensure that the tax transparency architecture remains both up-to-date and effective going forward.”

The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is a key component of the International Standards for Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters developed by the OECD under a G20 mandate. It provides for the automatic exchange of tax-relevant information on cryptoassets and comes against the backdrop of a rapid adoption of the use of cryptoassets for a wide range of investment and financial uses.

The takedown capability removes or limits access to fraudulent and malicious websites on the internet and expands on a three-week trial ASIC conducted in 2022.

The scam websites disrupted by ASIC include fake investment platforms, cryptoasset scam websites, and imposter scam websites where legitimate financial service businesses are being impersonated.

The proposed framework would require digital asset platforms that hold over a certain threshold of Australians assets ($1,500 for an individual; $5 million in aggregate) to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence.

Digital asset platforms would need to meet all general licence obligations, consistent with other licence holders.

According to the factsheet published together with the proposal paper, the general obligations are drawn from the Australian financial services law and include:

• providing the financial service efficiently, honestly, and fairly
• managing conflicts of interest
• having a dispute resolution system
• meeting solvency and cash reserve requirements
• keeping and submitting financial records
• producing product disclosure statements
• monitoring for and disrupting market misconduct.

All digital asset platforms will also need to meet specific obligations that take into account the nature of the platforms, of tokens, and their risks. The specific obligations, unique to the digital assets industry, will include:

• standard form platform contracts
• minimum standards for holding tokens
• standards for custody software
• standards when transacting in tokens.

The proposal would also apply additional obligations to four specific activities involving non-financial products offered by digital asset platforms:

• Trading – the exchange of digital asset platform entitlements between account holders.
• Staking – the participation in validating transactions on a public network.
• Tokenisation – the creation and exchange of entitlements backed by tangible and intangible assets.
• Fundraising – the sale of entitlements to fund the development of products and services.

Obligations are "targeted to address some of the risks that arise from digital asset platform business models and the nature of the tokens they provide access to." 

Deadline for comments is 1 December 2023.

The Committee welcomed the opportunity to "consider stakeholders’ views on the regulation of digital assets in Australia" but found that the Bill was "at odds with the measured and industry accepted approach" that the Australian Government was currently pursuing.