Regulation · Australia
AUSTRAC-registered crypto exchanges
Australia regulates the businesses, not the coins. Here is what registration actually obliges a platform to do, what it deliberately does not promise, how to verify any provider in about two minutes, and what the April 2027 licensing regime changes.
Trading crypto carries risk. Verify any provider's AUSTRAC registration before you send money.
Last reviewed: August 2026
Why registration exists in the first place
Australia's approach to crypto has always started from anti-money-laundering rather than investor protection. Since 2018, any business exchanging Australian dollars for digital currency has been required to enrol and register with AUSTRAC, the country's financial intelligence agency, under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.
The logic is that crypto's usefulness to criminals lies at the boundary — the point where value enters or leaves the traditional financial system. Regulate the on-ramps and off-ramps, the reasoning goes, and you capture most of the risk without trying to police a global peer-to-peer network. That is why every legitimate Sydney route asks for your driver licence, whether it is an exchange, a shopfront dealer, a newsagency deposit or a machine in a convenience store.
A registered provider must verify customer identity, conduct ongoing customer due diligence, monitor transactions, keep records, report suspicious matters, and report certain threshold transactions. Those obligations are the actual content of the word "registered". Everything else people assume it means is covered in the what it does not mean section below, and that section is the reason this page exists.
-
Find the legal entity name, not the brand
Scroll to the footer of the platform's website. You are looking for a company name and an ABN or ACN. Brands and legal entities routinely differ — a well-known trading name might belong to a Pty Ltd with a completely different name. Search the wrong one and you will get no result and draw the wrong conclusion.
-
Search the AUSTRAC public register
Go to austrac.gov.au and search its public register of registered providers for that legal name. The register is genuinely public and genuinely searchable — this is not a paid database or an insider tool.
-
Match the details and check status
Confirm the ABN or ACN matches what the website claims, and that the registration status is current rather than suspended, cancelled or lapsed. AUSTRAC has refused renewals and cancelled registrations — a historical entry is not the same as an active one.
-
Cross-check with ASIC
Look the entity up on the ASIC company register to confirm it exists and is not in external administration, and check ASIC's investor alert list of entities it has warned the public about. Two minutes here has saved readers substantial sums.
-
Only then deposit
If any step fails — no entry, mismatched ABN, cancelled status, an ASIC warning — stop. There is no legitimate platform that fails these checks, and no explanation offered to you by a "support agent" is worth more than the register.
Verified and ready to start? Open an account with a platform whose licensing footprint you can check for yourself.
Get startedWhat changed on 31 March 2026
The digital currency exchange register was replaced that day by a broader virtual asset service provider register. The change matters because it widened the net. The old regime captured businesses swapping fiat for crypto; the new one also captures activities that previously sat outside it, notably crypto-to-crypto exchange platforms and digital asset transferors.
In practical terms, more of the industry now carries AML/CTF obligations, and more of it appears on a public register you can search. Registrations must be renewed periodically — the previous DCE cycle ran on a three-year renewal — and there is no government application fee, which removes the "we could not afford to register" excuse entirely.
For consumers, the practical upshot is that the register is now a more complete map of who is operating legitimately in Australia. If a platform touching crypto for Australians is not on it, that is a much stronger signal than it was two years ago.
ASIC, INFO 225 and the AFSL regime from April 2027
The second half of Australia's framework is financial services regulation, and this is the part moving fastest. ASIC published a substantially updated version of its digital asset guidance, INFO 225, in late 2025 — its most detailed statement yet on how existing financial services law applies to crypto assets. Where a crypto asset or a service around it constitutes a financial product, the provider needs an Australian Financial Services Licence or an exemption.
Then, in 2026, the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) legislation passed, creating a purpose-built regime. Digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms become financial products subject to the licensing regime from April 2027, with the general obligations that come attached: acting efficiently, honestly and fairly, dispute resolution, compensation arrangements and consumer protections. Under ASIC's transitional no-action position, affected firms had to apply for a licence — or notify ASIC of an intention to apply — by 30 June 2026.
If you are choosing a platform today with a multi-year horizon, this is worth factoring in. Providers that have engaged with the licensing process are signalling an intention to operate in Australia long term. Those that have not may simply exit the market.
| When | What happened | Effect on you |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | DCE registration with AUSTRAC becomes mandatory | Identity verification required everywhere |
| Jun 2025 | AUSTRAC conditions on crypto ATM operators | A$5,000 cash cap, scam warnings, tighter ID |
| Nov 2025 | ASIC publishes updated INFO 225 | Clearer rules on what counts as a financial product |
| 31 Mar 2026 | VASP register replaces the DCE register | More platforms captured and publicly listed |
| 30 Jun 2026 | Licence application deadline under ASIC no-action | Signals which platforms plan to stay |
| Apr 2027 | AFSL regime begins for digital asset platforms | Consumer protections and dispute resolution apply |
What registration does NOT mean
This is the most important section on the page, because the gap between what people assume and what is true has cost Australians a great deal of money.
AUSTRAC registration is not a solvency check. Nobody has audited the platform's balance sheet or confirmed it holds the assets it says it holds. It is not deposit insurance — there is no Australian equivalent of the Financial Claims Scheme covering crypto balances, and if a platform fails you are an unsecured creditor. It is not an investment endorsement; AUSTRAC has no view on whether any asset is suitable for you. And it is not a guarantee of good behaviour.
The evidence is in Australian history. Registered Australian businesses have frozen withdrawals, entered voluntary administration and collapsed. Registration did not prevent any of it, because preventing it was never the purpose. Our page on Australian exchange failures walks through what actually happened and what customers learned.
Treat the register as a filter that removes the obviously illegitimate, not as a seal of approval. Pass that filter, then do your own work on liquidity, track record, custody arrangements and how the platform behaved the last time markets broke.
- What it IS
- Proof the business meets AML/CTF obligations: ID checks, monitoring, reporting
- What it is NOT
- A solvency audit, deposit insurance, or an endorsement of the platform
- Also required
- From April 2027, an AFSL for digital asset platforms and custody
- Your protection
- Self-custody. Withdraw long-term holdings to a wallet you control
The question we wish more readers asked
Almost every reader who has written to us after losing money on a platform asked the same question before depositing: "Is this exchange legit?" It is the wrong question, because it has no verifiable answer and because a persuasive support agent can say yes.
The better question is: "What specifically is on the public record about this entity?" That one has an answer you can obtain yourself in two minutes without talking to anybody. Legal name, ABN, AUSTRAC registration status, ASIC company status, any ASIC warning. Five data points, all free, all public, all impossible for a scammer to fake.
If those five check out, you have not proven the platform is good — but you have eliminated the entire category of outright fraud that accounts for the majority of Australian crypto losses. That is a very high return on two minutes.
Is there anything NSW-specific?
Short answer: no separate crypto licence. Longer answer below.
The framework is federal
AUSTRAC registration and ASIC licensing apply nationally. There is no New South Wales crypto exchange licence and no state-based crypto register to check.
NSW Fair Trading
State consumer protection law still applies to misleading conduct by a business operating in NSW, and NSW Fair Trading handles consumer complaints in that space.
NSW Police
Crypto theft and fraud are crimes reported to NSW Police, alongside a report to the national ReportCyber service. See our scam guide for the reporting sequence.
What registration means for you, day to day
Registration is not just a badge on the platform — it changes your experience as a customer in specific, predictable ways, and knowing them prevents a lot of frustration.
You will be identified, every time. Driver licence or passport, address confirmation, and usually a liveness check. There is no compliant Australian route around this for meaningful amounts, and any service claiming otherwise is unregistered.
Your transactions are monitored. Unusual patterns trigger review. A dormant account suddenly moving large sums, deposits from flagged sources, or transaction patterns resembling structuring will result in questions and possibly a hold. This is the system working correctly, even when it is inconvenient.
You may be asked about source of funds. Particularly at higher values, expect requests for documentation showing where money came from. This is why we push record-keeping so hard on every page of this site — being able to produce a clean paper trail turns a potential months-long problem into a two-day one.
Records are kept, and shared with the ATO. Australian exchanges provide data to the tax office, which is why undeclared disposals get matched. See our tax guide.
- Search the legal entity name on the AUSTRAC register before your first deposit — not the brand name.
- Check ASIC's company register and investor alert list for the same entity.
- Remember registration covers AML obligations, not solvency or investment suitability.
- Keep your own records regardless — the platform's may not outlive the platform.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a crypto exchange is registered with AUSTRAC?
Find the platform's legal entity name and ABN in the footer of its website, then search AUSTRAC's public register of registered providers for that name. The brand you know may differ from the registered entity, so always search the legal name. If it is not there, or the registration is not current, do not deposit.
Is AUSTRAC registration the same as a licence?
No, and the distinction matters. Registration means the business has met anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations. It is not a solvency check, not deposit insurance and not an endorsement of the platform as an investment. A separate financial services licensing regime for digital asset platforms begins in April 2027.
What happened to the DCE register in 2026?
The digital currency exchange register was replaced by a broader virtual asset service provider register on 31 March 2026. The new regime captures activities that previously sat outside it, including crypto-to-crypto exchange platforms and digital asset transferors, extending AML/CTF obligations across more of the industry.
Do crypto ATMs need to be registered with AUSTRAC?
Yes. Operators exchanging cash for digital currency through machines fall within the framework and must register. AUSTRAC imposed additional conditions on ATM operators in mid-2025, including a A$5,000 cash cap, mandatory scam warnings and enhanced due diligence, and has refused to renew at least one operator's registration.
Will crypto exchanges need an AFSL in Australia?
Yes. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) legislation passed in 2026 brings digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms into the financial services licensing regime from April 2027. Under ASIC's transitional no-action position, affected firms were required to apply for a licence, or notify ASIC of an intention to apply, by 30 June 2026.
Can I use an offshore exchange that is not AUSTRAC-registered?
Nothing makes it a crime for you personally to use an overseas platform, but you take on the entire risk. You have no realistic recourse through Australian regulators or the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, no protection if the platform fails, and potential difficulty explaining fund sources to your bank later. We do not recommend it.