Australia's 2025 Policy Pivots: From Crypto Oversight to Critical Minerals Diplomacy

Charting the Year’s Most Impactful Government Decisions Shaping Resources and Digital Assets

2025 proved to be a transformative year for Australian policy-making, with major developments across digital finance regulation, judicial precedents on asset classification, and strategic international partnerships around critical resources. Here are the five government moves that redefined the country’s economic landscape.

Cryptocurrency Platform Licensing: The New Regulatory Architecture

The Australian government’s October release of draft legislation fundamentally reshaped how crypto trading venues must operate domestically. Under the proposed amendments to the Corporations Act 2001, digital asset platforms and tokenised custody services would fall under the Australian Financial Services Licence regime—marking a watershed moment for the sector’s oversight structure.

The regulatory framework carries meaningful teeth. Non-compliant operators face potential penalties ranging from AU$300 to tens of millions of dollars. However, the government carved out exemptions for smaller venues, particularly those processing under AU$6.5 million in annual trading volume or maintaining average customer deposits below AU$3,300. NFTs and gaming-related tokens remain outside the scope of these new rules.

Notably, token issuers and businesses deploying tokens for non-financial applications escaped direct regulatory capture. The government opened the draft to public consultation through October 24, signalling its intent to refine the approach before finalisation. Industry observers viewed this as a pragmatic attempt to establish “effective settings for digital assets and payment stablecoins” without stifling innovation.

The Bitcoin Tax Precedent: A Judge’s Reframing

May 2025 delivered an unexpected judicial intervention in Australia’s crypto taxation debate. Justice Michael O’Connell’s ruling in the William Wheatley case—which involved allegations of theft of 81.6 BTC originally valued at AU$492,000 but now worth approximately AU$13 million—recharacterized Bitcoin’s tax treatment entirely.

O’Connell determined that Bitcoin should be classified similarly to Australian fiat currency rather than traditional assets like gold or equities, making it theoretically exempt from capital gains tax (CGT) obligations. The implications were staggering: tax specialists estimated that if the ruling were upheld across the market, approximately AU$1 billion in CGT refunds could flow back to Australian Bitcoin holders.

This judgment contradicted Australia’s Board of Taxation review released in March, which made no new crypto-specific tax proposals, leaving existing frameworks intact. Yet the judicial intervention signalled a possible long-term shift in how Australia’s Tax Office might engage with digital asset holders, with leading tax professionals predicting greater industry-focused guidance rather than wholesale legislative rewrites.

US-Australia Critical Minerals Alliance: A Geopolitical Compact

October’s summit between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese produced a landmark US-Australia critical minerals and rare earths agreement, framed as an US$8.5 billion pipeline of immediate investment opportunities. Both nations pledged over US$1 billion each in rare earths and critical minerals development within six months for initial projects.

The bilateral arrangement sat alongside discussions of AUKUS, the multibillion-dollar submarine security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US—valued at around US$239 billion (AU$368 billion) over three decades and explicitly designed to strengthen Indo-Pacific deterrence. Trump’s remarks affirmed the alliance’s strategic purpose while emphasising US military superiority, underscoring Washington’s commitment to the partnership despite ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Western Australia’s Uranium-Mining Reconsideration

Ahead of a trade mission to China and Japan, Western Australia’s Premier Roger Cook signalled that the state’s long-standing ban on new uranium-mining licences might face policy review. Since 2017, no new uranium development permits had been granted, though three existing mines continued operations under grandfathered approvals.

Cook emphasised that any policy reversal would hinge on “significant shifts” in global energy markets, particularly given China’s dominance as the state’s largest trading partner and the source of over half its exports. The remarks reflected growing international interest in nuclear energy investment and Australia’s potential role in the global supply chain.

Australia-Canada Critical Minerals Declaration: Formalising Cooperation

November brought a joint declaration of intent between Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources and Canada’s Department of Natural Resources. Signed by Madeleine King and Tim Hodgson at the G7 Energy and Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Toronto, the non-binding framework outlined shared commitments to secure and diversified mineral supply chains.

While carrying no immediate financial obligations, the declaration commits both nations to establishing an in-person ministerial within six months to assess progress and draft a 2026 work plan. Focus areas span project financing, investment promotion, ESG standards harmonisation, and joint research on stockpiling and development pipelines. The partnership reflects a broader trend of democracies consolidating control over critical minerals amid supply-chain fragmentation concerns.