Australia
Australia has few classic repression tools: no capital controls, deposit-rate caps or rules making pension funds or insurers hold government bonds were found. The main sovereign channel is bank liquidity regulation: since the RBA's Committed Liquidity Facility was phased out to zero on 1 January 2023, banks meet the LCR largely with Commonwealth and state government bonds, which count as top-tier liquid assets without limit or haircut, and Commonwealth debt also carries a zero risk weight. The RBA bought almost $224 billion of AGS and $57 billion of semis under its 2020-22 bond purchase program (alongside earlier purchases for its three-year yield target) and since 2022 has let its holdings run off as they mature. Other measures target housing and crypto: a ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings extended to 30 June 2029, state surcharge duties on foreign buyers (NSW 9%, Victoria 8%) and an ACT rent cap tied to rents CPI. On crypto, AUSTRAC has capped cash at crypto ATMs at $5,000, a licensing regime for digital asset platforms is enacted from 8 April 2027, and Treasury has released a draft bill for crypto transaction reporting.
- 6 in force
- 1 enacted
- 1 proposed or under discussion
Measures as of
How the index is built
Each segment is what one category of rules, or the market pillar, adds to the index. The full bar is 100.
- Captive demand 0.0
- Central bank financing 3.2
- Capital controls 0.0
- Rate caps 0.0
- Prudential sovereign bias 4.0
- Directed credit 0.0
- Tax incentives 0.0
- Real asset restrictions 3.3
- Transaction taxes 0.0
- Market pillar 6.4
Index = 80% × rules (13.1) + 20% × market (31.9) = 16.9
The method in plain words
- Rules pillar (0–100). Each of the 9 categories can add up to its weight (the weights sum to 100). A category's intensity grows with every in-force measure in it: one measure counts by its severity factor (0.25 for severity 1, 0.5 for 2, 0.8 for 3), and each further measure closes part of the remaining gap, so breadth adds with diminishing returns: two severity-3 measures give 96%.
- Market pillar (0–100). The average of the market readings below: how negative the real policy rate is, and how much of the government's debt is held by its own central bank and banks.
- Index. 80% rules + 20% market when market data exists, otherwise rules alone. Laws passed but not yet applying count only in the outlook; proposals never count.
The 9 categories
Weight = the most points a category can add to the rules pillar. Intensity = how much of that weight the in-force measures fill. Open a category to see the measures counted; “What is this?” shows the instruments behind it, worldwide and in history.
- Captive demandWeight 16Intensity 0%Points 0.0
Mandated holdings of government debt by pension funds, insurers or banks. No in-force measures here. What is this? →
- Weight 16Intensity 25%Points 3.2
Central bank purchases of government debt, yield curve control, direct monetary financing. What is this? →
Central bank financing: measures counted in the index Measure counted Severity Factor Points 1 of 3 0.25 3.2 - Capital controls1 enacted, 1 proposed not countedWeight 16Intensity 0%Points 0.0 → 3.2 once enacted laws apply
Limits on moving money abroad, outbound investment limits, FX controls. No in-force measures here. What is this? →
- Rate capsWeight 14Intensity 0%Points 0.0
Caps or ceilings on deposit or lending rates, and administered interest rates. No in-force measures here. What is this? →
- Weight 10Intensity 50%Points 4.0
Prudential rules that favor sovereign debt (zero risk weights, liquidity-buffer rules, leverage-ratio exemptions). What is this? →
Prudential sovereign bias: measures counted in the index Measure counted Severity Factor Points 2 of 3 0.5 4.0 - Directed creditWeight 10Intensity 0%Points 0.0
State-directed lending, credit guidance, and mandates to invest domestically or in state priorities. No in-force measures here. What is this? →
- Tax incentivesWeight 7Intensity 0%Points 0.0
Tax privileges for government bonds, or tax penalties on competing assets. No in-force measures here. What is this? →
- Weight 6Intensity 68%Points 3.3
Rent controls, property curbs, and limits on owning gold, cash or crypto. What is this? →
Real asset restrictions: measures counted in the index Measure counted Severity Factor Points 1 of 3 0.25 0.8 1 of 3 0.25 0.8 1 of 3 0.25 0.8 1 of 3 0.25 0.8 - Transaction taxesWeight 5Intensity 0%Points 0.0
Financial transaction taxes, stamp duties and similar levies on non-government assets. No in-force measures here. What is this? →
Market pillar 31.9 / 100
The average of the readings that have data, worth 20% of the index (6.4 points here).
Real policy rate
22.7 / 1000.4% · Jun 2026
Policy rate minus inflation. A real rate of +2% or more scores 0; −5% or less scores 100; in between it scales in a straight line. Savers lose most when it is deeply negative.
Policy rate 4.35% minus consumer price inflation 3.942% (year on year), 2026-06.
Debt held by the central bank and domestic banks
41.1 / 10024.6% of government debt · 2025-Q4
Share of government debt held by the domestic central bank and domestic banks. 0% scores 0; 60% or more scores 100; in between it scales in a straight line.
Central bank 12.64% + domestic banks 12.01% of general government debt, 2025-Q4.
Indicators
Measured data from international sources, alongside the rules above. Real rates below zero mean savers lose purchasing power.
Policy rate, inflation and real rate
Who holds government debt
The liquidation effect follows Reinhart and Sbrancia: with a negative real rate, about −(real rate × debt) of GDP moves from savers to the state each year. It uses the policy rate, so treat it as a rough guide. Sources: BIS, BIS central bank policy rates; BIS consumer prices; IMF, IMF DataMapper: World Economic Outlook (October 2026); Fiscal Monitor (October 2026); Menzie D. Chinn and Hiro Ito, The Chinn-Ito Index (KAOPEN): a de jure measure of financial openness; IMF, Sovereign Debt Investor Base for Advanced Economies / for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (Arslanalp and Tsuda).
Measures
Every measure tracked here, with its legal basis and sources. Only in-force measures count in the index.
In force (6)
AUSTRAC A$5,000 cash limit on crypto ATMs (registration conditions)
Adds 0.8 points to the index
On 3 June 2025 AUSTRAC placed conditions on crypto ATM operators' registrations, including a $5,000 limit on cash deposits and withdrawals, enhanced customer due diligence, mandatory scam warnings and stronger transaction monitoring, and refused to renew one operator's registration. It said it expects other exchanges that accept cash for crypto to consider similar limits. The AML/CTF Act lets the AUSTRAC CEO attach conditions to a virtual asset service provider's registration, including on the value of virtual assets or money exchanged.
Why it counts: Caps how much physical cash can be converted into or out of crypto through the main anonymous on-ramp, narrowing a route for moving savings outside the banking system.
Legal basis Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Compilation No. 63, C2026C00447), Section 76G(1)-(2) and 1 more
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Compilation No. 63, C2026C00447), Section 76G(1)-(2)Primary source
“The AUSTRAC CEO may, in writing, impose conditions to which the registration of a person under this Part is subject.”
AUSTRAC media release: Scams, fraud and other illicit activity - AUSTRAC puts crypto ATM operators on noticePrimary source
“we’ve placed a number of conditions on crypto ATM operators, including a $5,000 limit on cash deposits and withdrawals, enhanced customer due diligence obligations, mandatory scam warnings”
Sources
- AUSTRAC media release, 3 June 2025 - Scams, fraud and other illicit activity: AUSTRAC puts crypto ATM operators on notice (read via Internet Archive)
- Bloomberg - Australia cracks down on crypto ATMs as scams, fraud uncovered (3 June 2025)
- Cointelegraph - Australia new crypto ATM rules amid rising scams
Ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings (extended to 30 June 2029) and vacancy fee
Adds 0.8 points to the index
Since 1 April 2025 foreign persons, including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies, are barred from buying established dwellings unless an exception applies; the 2026-27 Budget extended the ban, originally for two years, by two years and three months to 30 June 2029. Purchases of Australian land by foreign persons are notifiable actions under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act, and foreign owners pay a vacancy fee on dwellings occupied for fewer than 183 days a year.
Why it counts: Closes the existing-housing market to non-resident and temporary-resident capital and taxes under-use of foreign-owned homes; it curbs a real-asset store of value rather than steering domestic savings.
Legal basis Budget Paper No. 2, Budget 2026-27 (Receipt Measures), Foreign Investment - extending the ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings and 2 more
Budget Paper No. 2, Budget 2026-27 (Receipt Measures), Foreign Investment - extending the ban on foreign purchases of established dwellingsPrimary source
“The Government will extend the temporary ban on foreign purchases of established residential dwellings by two years and three months until 30 June 2029.”
Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Compilation No. 35, C2025C00672), Section 47(2)(c)Primary source
“(c) to acquire an interest in Australian land.”
Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Compilation No. 35, C2025C00672), Section 115C(1)Primary source
“The person must pay a fee (a vacancy fee ) in relation to each dwelling on the land that is residentially occupied for fewer than 183 days during each vacancy year for the dwelling.”
RBA holdings from the 2020-22 bond purchase program and yield target (passive run-off)
Adds 3.2 points to the index
From March 2020 the RBA bought Australian Government Securities to hold a three-year yield target (discontinued on 2 November 2021) and, under its bond purchase program, acquired almost $224 billion of AGS and $57 billion of semis between November 2020 and February 2022, taking its share of AGS outstanding to around 35 per cent. Purchases ceased on 10 February 2022; in May 2022 the Board decided not to reinvest maturing bonds and said it had no plans to sell.
Why it counts: The central bank still holds a large stock of government and state bonds bought at pandemic-era yields and lets it run off only as bonds mature, keeping that debt off the private market for years.
Legal basis Reserve Bank Act 1959 (Compilation No. 33, C2026C00375), Section 8(e) and 1 more
Reserve Bank Act 1959 (Compilation No. 33, C2026C00375), Section 8(e)Primary source
“(e) to buy and sell securities issued by the Commonwealth and other securities;”
RBA Government Bond Purchases noticePrimary source
“Australian Government Securities (AGS) were purchased to support a target for the yield on an Australian Government bond further out the yield curve than the cash rate”
ACT: rent increases capped at 110% of Canberra rents CPI growth
Adds 0.8 points to the index
In the Australian Capital Territory a rent increase may not exceed an amount prescribed by regulation unless the tenant agrees in writing or the tribunal (ACAT) approves; the regulation sets the cap at 1.1 times the current rent multiplied by the growth in the rents subgroup of the Canberra CPI since the last increase. The cap applies from 1 November 2019, and section 64AAA of the Act also limits increases to intervals of at least 12 months.
Why it counts: Holds landlords' rental returns to inflation-linked growth, capping the income return on residential property held as savings.
Legal basis Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT), Republication R84, Section 64B(1) and 1 more
Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT), Republication R84, Section 64B(1)Primary source
“A rental rate increase for premises must not be more than the amount prescribed by regulation unless”
Residential Tenancies Regulation 1998 (ACT), SL1998-17, Republication No 16, Section 5APrimary source
“index number means the rents subgroup of the housing group of the Consumer Price Index for Canberra published from time to time by the Australian statistician.”
State foreign-purchaser surcharge duties on residential property (NSW 9%, Victoria 8%)
Adds 0.8 points to the index
States levy extra duty on foreign buyers of residential property on top of ordinary transfer duty: New South Wales charges surcharge purchaser duty at 9% of dutiable value, and Victoria charges foreign purchaser additional duty at 8% for contracts from 1 July 2019 (3% when introduced on 1 July 2015, then 7% from 1 July 2016).
Why it counts: Raises the cost for non-resident savers of holding Australian housing, segmenting the property market by residency on top of the federal screening regime.
Legal basis Surcharge purchaser duty (Duties Act 1997 (NSW)), as administered by Revenue NSW, Chapter 2A (surcharge purchaser duty); current rate as stated by Revenue NSW and 1 more
Surcharge purchaser duty (Duties Act 1997 (NSW)), as administered by Revenue NSW, Chapter 2A (surcharge purchaser duty); current rate as stated by Revenue NSWPrimary source
“The current surcharge purchaser duty rate is 9% of the dutiable value of the property.”
Foreign purchaser additional duty (Duties Act 2000 (Vic)), as administered by the State Revenue Office, Current ratesPrimary source
“For contracts, transactions, agreements and arrangements entered into on or after: 1 July 2019, the additional duty rate is 8%”
Bank liquidity and capital rules favouring government securities (LCR HQLA1, zero risk weight, CLF wound down)
Adds 4.0 points to the index
Under APRA's APS 210, marketable sovereign securities with a zero risk weight count as HQLA1 at market value with no haircut and without limit; in Australian dollars only Australian Government Securities and state/territory borrowing-authority bonds (semis) qualify. APS 112 lets banks risk-weight Australian Government exposures in Australian dollars at zero per cent. The RBA's Committed Liquidity Facility, which had let banks meet the LCR without holding these bonds, was phased out to zero on 1 January 2023.
Why it counts: With the CLF gone, large banks must hold government and state bonds (or RBA balances) to meet the LCR, building a captive domestic bank bid for public debt at little capital cost.
Legal basis Prudential Standard APS 210 Liquidity, Attachment A, HQLA1 (paragraph 9) and 2 more
Prudential Standard APS 210 Liquidity, Attachment A, HQLA1 (paragraph 9)Primary source
“HQLA1 may comprise an unlimited share of the stock of eligible HQLA. HQLA1 are included at market value and are not subject to a haircut under the LCR.”
Prudential Standard APS 112 Capital Adequacy: Standardised Approach to Credit Risk, Attachment B (sovereign exposures)Primary source
“Exposures to the Australian Government and Reserve Bank of Australia that are denominated and funded in Australian dollars may be risk-weighted at zero per cent.”
Committed Liquidity Facility (RBA market operations notice)Primary source
“only Australian Government Securities (AGS) and securities issued by the borrowing authorities of the states and territories (semis) have been assessed by APRA as meeting the Basel criteria for HQLA.”
Enacted, not yet in force (1)
Digital Assets Framework: crypto exchanges and custodians become financial products needing an AFS licence
Counts in the outlook only: adds 3.2 points once it applies
The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 (Royal Assent 8 April 2026) makes digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms financial products, so their operators generally need an Australian Financial Services Licence. Small platforms are exempt if transactions through them stay at or under $10 million in 12 months and each client's holdings stay at or under $5,000. The Act commences 12 months after Royal Assent (8 April 2027 per the register's commencement table), followed by a six-month transition period.
Why it counts: Brings crypto custody and exchange inside the financial-services licensing perimeter, so platforms serving Australians must be licensed and supervised, which narrows unregulated routes for holding savings outside the banking system.
Legal basis Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 (No. 38, 2026), Schedule 1, item inserting paragraphs 764A(1)(la)-(lb) of the Corporations Act 2001 and 1 more
Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 (No. 38, 2026), Schedule 1, item inserting paragraphs 764A(1)(la)-(lb) of the Corporations Act 2001Primary source
“(la) a digital asset platform, unless the platform is a managed investment scheme; (lb) a tokenised custody platform, unless the platform is a managed investment scheme;”
Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 (No. 38, 2026), Section 2 (Commencement)Primary source
“The day after the end of the period of 12 months beginning on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.”
Proposed (1)
Crypto tax transparency bill: CARF and a domestic crypto reporting regime (exposure draft)
Not counted in the index
On 15 October 2026 Treasury released an exposure draft, the Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Tax Information Reporting (consultation to 28 October 2026), that would put the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework into Australian law and create a domestic crypto reporting regime requiring virtual asset service providers to report Australian tax residents' transactions to the Commissioner. Domestic reporting is intended to be quarterly from 1 July 2027, with the first international exchanges in the 2028 calendar year.
Why it counts: Gives the tax authority transaction-level visibility of residents' crypto holdings at home and abroad, removing crypto as an unreported store of savings outside the banking system.
Legal basis Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Tax Information Reporting - exposure draft explanatory material, Paragraph 1.2 and 1 more
Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Tax Information Reporting - exposure draft explanatory material, Paragraph 1.2Primary source
“the domestic crypto reporting regime (DCRR) to require virtual asset service providers to provide information about virtual asset transactions of Australian tax residents to the Commissioner.”
Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Tax Information Reporting - exposure draft explanatory material, Paragraph 1.35Primary source
“For the purposes of the DCRR, it is intended that the reporting period will be quarterly, commencing from 1 July 2027.”
Repealed (1)
$10,000 cash payment limit bill (Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash) Bill 2019) - discharged
Not counted in the index
The Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash) Bill 2019 would have made it an offence for entities to make or accept cash payments of $10,000 or more. It passed the House of Representatives on 24 October 2019, and the Senate Economics Legislation Committee recommended it be passed, but it was discharged from the Senate Notice Paper on 3 December 2020 and its status is 'Not Proceeding'. Australia has no general cash payment limit.
Why it counts: Had it passed, it would have limited large cash settlements and pushed payments into the banking system, removing an exit from bank deposits; its failure leaves cash use unrestricted.
Legal basis Senate Economics Legislation Committee report on the Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash) Bill 2019 [Provisions], Chapter 1 and 1 more
Senate Economics Legislation Committee report on the Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash) Bill 2019 [Provisions], Chapter 1Primary source
“The bill will create new offences from 1 January 2020 that apply if an entity makes, or accepts, cash payments with a value that equals or exceeds a cash payment limit of $10,000.”
Senate Economics Legislation Committee report on the Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash) Bill 2019 [Provisions], Chapter 2Primary source
“a cash payment limit would, due to the offence provisions created, reduce the likelihood of firms accepting and making cash payments equal to or exceeding $10,000, hence improving audit trails and reducing anonymity.”
Before today
2 examples from Australia in the toolkit, past and present, grouped by what the tool does. Each links to the instrument, its other examples and the cited law.
HoldHold the price of money down
Central bank financing
Government bond yield pegs and yield curve controlReserve Bank Board decision announced 19 March 2020, media release 2020-08
2020Historical
RewriteRewrite the deal in a crisis
Extraordinary measures
Compulsory surrender (confiscation) of private goldBanking Act 1959, Part IV, sections 42-44
1959 → 1976Historical