Summary
Australian exchanges should not treat April 2027 as the first compliance date. AUSTRAC obligations and readiness expectations are already active, with 1 July 2026 the major next milestone. Transaction monitoring is mandatory now, compliance officers must be notified by May 30, and the Travel Rule takes effect on July 1.
The assumption that the existing financial services law is irrelevant until the Digital Assets Framework (DAF) regime starts is inaccurate. ASIC’s current guidance still applies where products or services already fall inside the Corporations Act perimeter. INFO 225 expires in June, after which firms must comply with existing licensing requirements while the new regime is built around them.
Stablecoin oversight and scam prevention are being developed on separate policy tracks — stablecoins through payments reform legislation, scams through the Scam Prevention Framework targeting banks, telcos, and social media platforms. Where those tracks converge is at the point of conversion: the moment funds move on-chain and exchanges become critical intervention points. How Australia connects these two frameworks will determine whether its scam prevention architecture has a gap at the most critical link.
