Top 5 Australian Government News Stories of 2025

1. Australian Treasury Releases Draft Bill on Cryptocurrency Exchange Regulation

Publish date: October 8, 2025

In October, the Australian government released a draft bill on regulating cryptocurrency exchanges, proposing to bring crypto platforms under the Australian Financial Services Licence regime.

The bill forms part of Australia’s broader digital asset strategy and is aimed at delivering effective settings for digital assets and payment stablecoins. It primarily targets trading platforms, leaving token issuers and businesses using tokens for non-financial purposes unaffected by new restrictions.

“The draft legislation amends the Corporations Act 2001 to capture digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms by introducing each as new financial products,” the government said.

Failure to comply may lead to fines from AU$300 to several million dollars. Smaller exchanges, such as those with under AU$6.5 million in yearly trading or less than AU$3,300 in average customer deposits, are exempt from these fines.

The legislation will not extend to non-fungible tokens or tokens used in gaming ecosystems.

The government opened the draft to public responses from September 25 to October 24.

No updates on the bill had been shared at the time of this writing.

2. Bitcoin Should be Treated Like Cash, Australian Judge Rules

Publish date: May 23, 2025

A ruling on Bitcoin made headlines in May, when Australian judge Michael O’Connell said the cryptocurrency is “comparable” to Australian dollars and should therefore be exempt from the capital gains tax (CGT).

The ruling follows a hearing for William Wheatley, a former Australian federal police officer. He was accused of stealing 81.6 BTC in 2019; at the time, they were worth AU$492,000, but now their value would be AU$13 million.

O’Connell said Bitcoin is a type of property, describing it as more similar to Australian dollars than it is to gold or shares.

Taxation lawyer Adrian Cartland, co-barrister for the defense in Wheatley’s case, said that should the ruling be upheld, up to AU$1 billion in CGT could be refunded to Bitcoin holders who paid CGT on their transactions.

“Recognising crypto as property would either make huge parts of the digital economy into property — such as points in Space Invaders or ‘likes’ on Instagram — or would be inconsistent with other laws,” he said, highlighting the implications of the ruling. “Love and affection are valuable, and so are services, but they are not property."

The Australian government released a Board of Taxation review on the tax treatment of digital assets and transactions on March 21. There were no new crypto-specific proposals on tax legislation, implying existing tax laws remain in place.

“While there hasn’t been new public guidance released yet, we see this as part of a longer-term shift,” crypto tax calculator CEO Shane Brunette said. “The government is signalling that it wants to give the Australian Tax Office room to engage more closely with industry and provide clarity through practice, rather than rewriting the rules all at once.”

3. Australia, US Pen Rare Earth Metals Deal in Albanese-Trump Meeting

Publish date: October 20, 2025

On October 20, the US and Australia signed a deal focusing on critical minerals and rare earths.

US President Donald Trump said he “never had any doubts” about the two countries' bond during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, adding that “there’s never been anybody better.”

For his part, Albanese described the deal as an US$8.5 billion pipeline "that we have ready to go."

The AUKUS submarine deal, a multibillion-dollar agreement between Australia, the UK and the US, was also discussed.

It is geared at boosting security in the Indo-Pacific region and worth around US$239 billion, or AU$368 billion, over 30 years. When asked whether AUKUS is meant to be a “deterrent” for China, Trump answered yes. However, he also said he doesn't think that will be needed as the US military is the best in the world.

Under the US-Australia deal, both countries will each make more than US$1 billion in rare earths and critical minerals investments over the next six months for initial projects.

4. Western Australia Reviews Uranium Mining Ban as Nuclear Energy Investment Grows

Publish date: October 2, 2025

Also in October, Western Australia moved to consider lifting its ban on new uranium-mining licences.

In October, ahead of an energy-focused trade mission to China and Japan, Premier Roger Cook signalled the policy might be under review as part of broader strategic development considerations.

China, Western Australia's largest trading partner, accounts for more than half of the state’s exports.

While the state’s three existing uranium mines continue to operate under previously approved permits, no new developments have been allowed since the ban was put in place in 2017. Cook emphasised that Western Australia intends to respect legal mining leases, while exploring future opportunities.

He also stressed that any change to the uranium policy would likely depend on a “significant shift” in global markets, while the state continues to monitor existing permit holders and potential future projects.

5. Australia and Canada Sign Joint Declaration of Intent on Critical Minerals

Publish date: November 3, 2025

Another major Australian collaboration in 2025 was its strengthened critical minerals partnership with Canada in the form of a new joint declaration of intent. The new agreement is between Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources and the Department of Natural Resources of Canada.

It was signed by Madeleine King, Australia's minister for resources and Northern Australia, and Tim Hodgson, Canadian minister for resources and energy, at the G7 Energy and Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Toronto.

While the joint declaration is not legally binding and comes with no financial commitment, it highlights that an in-person ministerial will be established within six months of the date of signing.

The ministerial will be given the responsibility of assessing progress and establishing a work plan for 2026, to be led by King and Hodgson themselves. Key areas of the partnership include project financing, investment and trade, maximising assets to co-invest in commercially viable projects.

The countries also agreed to share best practices on meeting ESG standards and project development and execution. Joint research and sharing of information on stockpiling and project development pipelines were also cited.

“By working together, we can build secure, diversified and sustainable critical minerals supply chains,” King said.