On October 15, 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission opened Consultation Paper 392. Comments are due by 5pm AEDT on November 27, 2026. The package proposes custody, trading, disclosure and financial standards for digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms.
The rules would implement the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026. The act starts on April 8, 2027, when licence applications open. Existing firms would have until October 7, 2027 to submit a new application or vary an existing licence. ASIC plans to publish the final instruments and guidance in March 2027.
The consultation remains preliminary. ASIC says the draft legal instruments are illustrative and may change considerably before publication. That distinction matters for operators planning compliance work because the package presents three alternative capital models rather than one settled requirement.
Who falls inside the framework
The act defines a digital asset platform as a service that holds digital tokens for clients and provides associated platform services. A tokenised custody platform records underlying assets held for clients as digital tokens. ASIC’s guidance also addresses existing Australian financial services licensees, market participants, payment providers and other businesses that use or deal with digital assets.
Covered firms would need to apply for or vary an Australian financial services licence. They would also have to provide customer disclosure documents and platform rules, then comply with asset-holding, transaction, settlement and net tangible asset requirements where relevant. ASIC proposes a streamlined licensing process for existing licensees and firms that applied under Information Sheet 225.
ASIC said it had recorded more than 140 applications from businesses seeking authorisation for digital asset-related financial services. More than 110 arrived during the sector-wide no-action period that ran from October 2025 through September 30, 2026. Those applicants now have a proposed route into the new authorisation categories, but the consultation leaves the final operating standards open until March.
Custody, withdrawals and asset use
The draft asset-holding instrument would require platform records to identify each underlying asset, its beneficial client, the client’s rights and the quantity held. The records must support reconciliation and prompt correction of discrepancies. Operators would also need arrangements that protect client assets and money from loss, misuse, unauthorised use or transfer.
Client assets must remain separate from property held for the operator’s or custodian’s own account. Platforms may pool fungible client tokens in one wallet if their records attribute balances to each person. Those pooled balances generally require reconciliation each business day. A shortfall would have to be corrected by the end of the second business day after it arises.
The withdrawal rules would prohibit terms that prevent or materially restrict redemption or delivery rights, except for legal compliance and controls covering fraud, operational errors, cyber risk, sanctions, money laundering, terrorism financing or other financial crime. A withdrawal fee could not exceed the operator’s reasonably incurred cost. Any delay, suspension or refusal would need reasonable grounds, a proportionate response, a record of the reason and prompt notice to the user unless law prohibits notice.
Platforms could not stake, lend or otherwise use an underlying asset without written disclosure of the use, its material risks and any transfer of control to another person, smart contract or protocol. Digital asset platform clients would need to authorise that use expressly. Operators could not make participation a condition of keeping assets or an account on the platform, and users would need a reasonable mechanism to stop participating without withdrawing the asset.
Trading and execution rules
The draft transaction and settlement standards would require a written confirmation after each executed order. It would identify the client, assets, quantities, order and execution times, price, fees and any liquidity provider that acted as counterparty.
Order-book operators would need to enter client orders immediately and in the order received. Platforms executing outside order matching would have to take reasonable steps to obtain the best outcome for the client and maintain access to at least two liquidity sources. The proposal allows exemptions for explicit client instructions and specified tied-broker, tied-dealer and principal-counterparty models, with disclosures about the resulting limits.
ASIC also proposes public trading data. Order-book platforms would publish pre-trade order information continuously and in real time. Order-matching platforms would do the same for executed trades. Both records would be retained for seven years. Public information would include token identifiers, volume, price and settlement asset, while post-trade data would also show execution time and cancellations.
Operators would have to identify market makers and liquidity providers on a public website. They would need monitoring for abnormal pricing, anomalous trading and trading errors, plus intervention rights that can restrict accounts, cancel orders or reverse transactions. A platform that suspends a client for prohibited trading conduct would notify ASIC in writing as soon as reasonably practicable.
Capital choices and the next deadline
The financial requirements proposal would require operators to project cash flow over at least the next 12 months and obtain approval for that projection at least quarterly. Operators would also need an annual audit opinion covering the tailored cash and net tangible asset requirements.
ASIC is consulting on three net tangible asset models. For operators that satisfy third-party custody conditions, each starts with the greatest of $200,000, 0.5% of average underlying assets up to $7 million, or 10% of average revenue. The alternatives impose different higher requirements when the operator or a related party holds the assets. Each model also requires cash or cash equivalents equal to at least the greater of $200,000 or 50% of required net tangible assets, while liquid assets must equal at least 100% of the requirement.
For users, the proposal would turn wallet segregation, daily reconciliation, withdrawal controls and trading disclosures into licence standards rather than platform policy. Operators face decisions about custody structure, execution routing, public market data and capital before the transition window closes. ASIC is seeking evidence on compliance costs and competition effects by 5pm AEDT on November 27, 2026, before settling the instruments for March 2027.
