Digital currency exchange (DCE) registration in Australia

About This Company

AUSTRAC decides whether to register, suspend, cancel or attach conditions to virtual asset service providers in Australia. Operating from Barton, Canberra, the agency administers the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. Under this regime, the licence covers virtual asset exchange, virtual asset transfer and virtual asset safekeeping. Authorisation remains purely domestic and does not passport into foreign jurisdictions. The statutory scope does not extend beyond designated AML/CTF reporting entities. An incoming owner does not face a percentage-based threshold trigger before completing a share transaction. Instead, the entity must notify the regulator via AUSTRAC Online within 14 days post-completion. This filing must submit police checks and declare any criminal or civil enforcement history for incoming officers and beneficial owners. If the authority assesses that new personnel introduce serious-crime or money-laundering risks, it may cancel the registration or restrict permissions. The buyer should verify the company's status by conducting a search on AUSTRAC's interactive web application using the trading name. The resulting record shows the registered entity name, ABN, permitted activities and any specific operational conditions. Government application fees are AUD 0.