# Australia

> Australia (AUSTRAC · ASIC · OAIC): Travel rule without a threshold, no coin ban. Region: Asia-Pacific. Privacy with disclosure: Confidentiality is workable so long as the regulated firm can identify parties and disclose on demand.

Part of the Soda Labs Privacy Hub regulation map, which reads the instruments
themselves rather than summarising the summaries: https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation

## Key facts

- Entry type: Jurisdiction
- Region: Asia-Pacific
- Subject: Travel rule without a threshold, no coin ban
- Authority: AUSTRAC · ASIC · OAIC
- Stance on on-chain confidentiality: Privacy with disclosure. Confidentiality is workable so long as the regulated firm can identify parties and disclose on demand.
- Tags: no privacy coin ban, no travel rule threshold, self-hosted wallets separate, wholesale CBDC only
- Canonical page: https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/jur-australia

## What it actually says

Australia constrains confidentiality through anti-money-laundering law and not through any coin-specific rule. No Australian instrument prohibits anonymity-enhancing assets; AUSTRAC lists privacy coins, tumblers and mixers among its suspicious activity indicators, and delistings to date have been commercial and bank-driven rather than mandated. The travel rule that starts applying to virtual asset transfers on 1 July 2026 has no minimum value at all, which is stricter than most peers. Transfers to self-hosted wallets are handled as their own category rather than exempted: the sending institution must collect and verify payer information and collect payee and tracing information, with reporting on transfers to unverified self-hosted wallets starting in 2029. Retail CBDC was set aside after Project Acacia, so the retail privacy design question never arose here.

## The instruments that matter

- **AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024**: commences for existing reporting entities 31 March 2026 and for tranche 2 entities 1 July 2026, widening virtual asset services to exchange, custody, transfer and sale
- **Travel rule from 1 July 2026 for virtual assets**: applies to every virtual asset transfer regardless of value; there is no de minimis
- **Self-hosted wallets handled separately**: an ordering institution transferring to a self-hosted wallet must collect and verify payer information and collect payee and tracing information; reporting on transfers to unverified self-hosted wallets starts 31 March 2029
- **ASIC INFO 225, updated 29 October 2025**: 18 worked examples plus a sector-wide no-action position on licensing until 30 June 2026

## Sources

- [ASIC 25-250MR on digital asset guidance](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2025-releases/25-250mr-updated-asic-guidance-supports-digital-asset-innovation-and-boosts-investor-protection/)
- [Overview of the AML/CTF Amendment Act](https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/criminal-justice/Pages/overview-of-the-amlctf-amendment-act.aspx)

## Related entries

- [Singapore](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/jur-singapore): Regulates anonymity by risk assessment, not prohibition
- [Hong Kong SAR](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/jur-hong-kong): Retail exclusion by liquidity gate, not by anonymity rule
- [United Kingdom](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/jur-united-kingdom): Risk-based, with an explicit central bank no-access pledge
- [India](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/jur-india): No crypto statute, regulated through AML and tax
- [Japan](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/jur-japan): Untraceability barred by self-regulation, now moving into ordinance
- [South Korea](https://www.sodalabs.xyz/privacy-hub/regulation/jur-south-korea): Identity-maximalist, and exporting the model