A rogue OpenAI research agent bypassed blocks on the Australian government health-data portal, accessing non-public files in June.
Australian crypto firms that need financial-services authorization have until Sept. 30 to enter a compliance pathway or risk enforcement.
This week, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said qualifying digital-asset businesses must apply for or vary a license, become an authorized representative, notify the regulator of an intended market-license application or begin winding down before the deadline.
From Oct. 1, firms that require authorization but have not met the applicable conditions will lose the benefit of ASIC’s temporary no-action position. The regulator warned that breaches of financial-services law can carry civil and criminal penalties, including fines of up to 10% of annual turnover.
However, this deadline does not apply uniformly across the crypto sector.
Whether a business falls inside the regime depends on whether the digital asset or arrangement it offers qualifies as a financial product and what service the company provides. ASIC said that assessment turns on the rights, benefits, expectations and product features attached to each offering.
That makes Sept. 30 less a blanket licensing cutoff and more a deadline for firms to establish where they sit within the regulatory framework.
Firms must choose a path or step away
Businesses providing financial services involving digital assets that qualify as financial products can apply for an Australian Financial Services License, vary an existing license or operate through specified authorized-representative and related-company arrangements.
Market operators and clearing and settlement providers face a different route. They must notify ASIC in writing that they intend to apply and attend a pre-application meeting by Sept. 30, with a formal application due within 12 months.
Companies that do not want to enter the licensing system can wind down instead, but they must notify ASIC by the same deadline and stop the covered activity within the permitted period.
The no-action policy also excludes several products, including crypto lending and earn offerings, most digital-asset derivatives and certain non-cash payment facilities.
ASIC has already recorded more than 45 applications for relevant digital-asset financial-services authorizations since updating its guidance in October 2025.
The regulator originally set a June 30 deadline, then extended the transition by three months and broadened the available compliance routes.
That extension now appears to be the final buffer.
ASIC’s no-action letter does not declare the covered activity lawful or prevent courts and third parties from acting. It simply sets out when the regulator presently intends not to pursue enforcement.
The practical choice for qualifying firms is therefore narrowing quickly: enter the licensing system, restructure how they operate or leave the regulated activity behind before the reprieve expires.
Australia’s national financial intelligence agency would have the power to restrict or ban crypto ATMs under draft legislation from the country’s minister for cybersecurity and home affairs, Tony Burke.
Burke said during a speech at the National Press Club on Thursday that the draft legislation would give the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) the ability to restrict or prohibit “high-risk products,” which include crypto ATMs.
While regular bank-run ATMs are also used for scams and illegal activities, Burke said that in the case of crypto ATMs, authorities are having limited success in policing and tracking down illicit funds and are concerned they present a money-laundering risk.
“I’m not pretending for a minute that everybody who goes in and uses a crypto ATM is a problem, but proportionately what’s happening is a significant problem in an area which is much harder for us to trace.”
Australia was initially a slow market for crypto ATMs, but adoption increased exponentially near the end of 2022 after private companies began piling into the market, and the country is now the third-largest hub for crypto ATMs, with 2,008, up from 67 in August 2022.
Crypto ATM provider argues there are already rules in place
More than half the crypto ATMs in Australia are operated by three providers: Localcoin, with 868 in its stable; Coinflip, with 682 ATMs; and Bitcoin Depot, with 267.
In a statement to Cointelegraph, a Coinflip spokesperson said that crypto ATMs are already subject to strict rules and Know Your Customer verification, which includes submitting valid government-issued identification before conducting any transaction.
AUSTRAC has previously led several crackdowns on crypto ATMs, and in June, it rolled out new operating rules and transaction limits.
Machines also have other safety measures
Coinflip said the machines have cameras, pre-transaction monitoring via blockchain analytics and real-time scam warnings to help curb bad actors.
Related: New Zealand bans crypto ATMs in crackdown on criminal cash conversions
“Crypto ATMs are an important bridge between the physical and digital world, taking cryptocurrency out of the cloud and into the physical world using a familiar experience,” the spokesperson said.
“As traditional ATMs continue to decline across Australia, interest in cryptocurrency surges, and banks maintain a restrictive posture toward digital assets, the environment is primed for CATMs to thrive.”
New powers will be optional
Burke said the government won’t be pushing for an outright ban on the machines or recommending a course of action for AUSTRAC because it might result in a “legal challenge.”
Still, he intends to give “them the power to be able to restrict or ban those devices,” so the agency has the tools to police new technology as it decides.
“I’m not sure what the next thing is going to be, and there will be times when AUSTRAC may decide on something that doesn’t quite fit that definition, but is similar to do they want to ban or do they want to regulate?” Burke said.
“How do they want to deal with this? Are there ways of actually avoiding the problem? That’s why they’ll be able to have this power with respect to high-risk products,” he added.
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