Australia has announced a three-year initiative to explore central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), focusing on wholesale applications, regulatory reforms, and industry engagement.
Brad Jones, Assistant Governor (Financial System) at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), shared details of the plan at an industry event in September.
The effort begins with Project Acacia, a public initiative to assess new forms of digital money and settlement infrastructure.
The project aims to improve efficiency, transparency, and resilience in wholesale markets.
It will build on insights from Australia’s 2023 CBDC pilot and may involve cross-border applications with other central banks, Jones said.
In the first half of 2025, the RBA will establish CBDC advisory forums with industry leaders and academia.
These forums will cover both retail and wholesale CBDC issues, helping the RBA and the Department of the Treasury gain a deeper understanding of the monetary policy implications of digital currencies.
The third part of the initiative will introduce legislative reforms to improve the regulatory environment for stablecoins and other digital assets.
These changes, planned for 2025, aim to enhance the regulatory sandbox to support financial innovation and infrastructure solutions. Feedback from the public and industry will guide the reforms, Jones added.
From the second half of 2025 through 2027, the focus will shift to retail CBDC. This phase will include public engagement and workshops with the Australian community to explore retail CBDC design options.
A follow-up report on retail CBDC, incorporating community feedback, will be released in 2027.
Jones clarified that wholesale CBDCs are currently limited to banks and key institutions involved in payments.
Broader access, such as allowing corporations to hold wholesale CBDCs, could have significant implications, including an expanded RBA balance sheet. However, such access is not under immediate consideration, he said.
Australia’s multi-phase plan aims to position the country at the forefront of CBDC development while balancing innovation with regulatory oversight.
