Australia to commence multiple trials of tokenised asset settlement and CBDC
1
24 innovative use cases from a diverse range of organisations, ranging from local fintechs to major banks, have been conditionally selected for this next stage of the project. This will include 19 pilot use cases, which will involve real money and real asset transactions, and five proof-of-concept use cases involving simulated transactions.
The use cases involve a range of asset classes, including fixed income, private markets, trade receivables and carbon credits.
Proposed settlement assets for the use cases include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), as well as new ways of using banks' existing exchange settlement accounts at the RBA.
Issuance of pilot wholesale CBDC for testing use cases will occur on a range of private and public-permissioned DLT platforms, including Hedera, Redbelly Network, R3 Corda, Canvas Connect and other EVM-compatible networks.
Testing of use cases will occur over the next six months, with a report on the findings from the project expected to be published in the first quarter of 2026.
Brad Jones, assistant governor at the RBA says: 'Ensuring that Australia's payments and monetary arrangements are fit-for-purpose in the digital age is a strategic priority for the RBA and the Payments System Board. Project Acacia represents an opportunity for further collaborative exploration on tokenised asset markets and the future of money by the public and private sectors in Australia.
'The use cases selected in this project will help us to better understand how innovations in central bank and private digital money, alongside payments infrastructure, might help to uplift the functioning of wholesale financial markets in Australia.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (Asic) is providing regulatory relief to participants to support and streamline the pilot.
Asic commissioner Kate O'Rourke says: "Asic sees useful applications for the technologies underlying digital assets in wholesale markets. The relief from regulatory requirements that we have announced today will allow these technologies to be sensibly tested—to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks.
'Importantly, Project Acacia will allow industry and regulators to work together to learn more about how these use cases may reshape the financial services industry, potentially boosting efficiency and foster economic growth.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How Albanese's 1.2million housing policy failure and record immigration has created a new category of Aussies with nowhere to go
Australia's housing emergency is now so dire nurses are living in cars while thousands of mothers and their children are sleeping rough or crammed into crisis accommodation with no path out. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised to fix the housing crisis but Australia today is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the world, with near record low rentals available and the worst levels of homelessness in living memory. Recent data by Homelessness Australia reveals the number of people accessing their services each month has grown by 10 per cent since the Albanese government came into power in May 2022. The situation is even more dire for women and girls, with an increase of 14 per cent. But while women and children go without a roof over their heads, immigration is booming, which experts say is putting unprecedented strain on the local property market. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show in the year to May, 1.1million permanent and long-term arrivals hit Australian shores, including international students and skilled workers. In cities soaking up the bulk of the arrivals like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and increasingly Brisbane, the competition for rentals is fierce, sending rents and house prices soaring. Australian Population Research Institute president Bob Birrell blamed the housing crisis on record overseas migration, which meant working Australians were being pushed out of the market, unable to buy or rent. 'The Albanese government is completely irresponsible on this issue,' he said. Freelancer CEO Matt Barrie (pictured) said the Great Australian dream of home ownership is out of reach for many now and he places the blame on record migration 'They have neglected it ever since they got back into power in 2022, they've just let immigration rip. 'We've had enormous levels of migrants, which is just unprecedented, and irresponsible in the context of the housing crisis.' Dr Birrell said part of the problem is the skilled migration program recruits hardly any tradespeople, especially for the beleaguered building industry. 'Migration is not adding to the supply of those important trades at all,' he said. 'Although a lot of temporary migrants who are adrift in Melbourne and Sydney would probably like to take up an apprenticeship in these areas, they can't, because they're temporaries.' Freelancer CEO Matt Barrie said the Albanese government had created a system so perverse doctors were living in share houses and nurses were sleeping in their cars. 'The Great Australian Dream is now mathematically impossible for the average Australian,' he said. 'In Sydney it now takes 46 years just to save a house deposit. Think about that, for a child born in Sydney today, their retirement party will come before they've saved enough for a house deposit.' Mr Barrie said the housing crisis had been 'engineered' by the government which has flooded the country with the largest immigration wave in history. 'Why, in a cost of living crisis, would they allow nearly one million international student enrolments? 'Why, in a cost of living crisis, would they allow 2.46million people on temporary visas into a country of 27million when there's only 36,000 rental vacancies?' Refuge workers and frontline services are also sounding the alarm on the crisis which is leaving women and children behind. As politicians returned to Canberra for the first sitting week of the new term, Everybody's Home spokeswoman Maiy Azize said the Albanese government has a chance to deliver a lasting legacy on housing or risk being remembered for letting it slip away. It comes after the public release of a written warning to Treasurer Jim Chalmers that the Albanese government could not meet its commitment of supplying 1.2million homes by 2029. 'This is a national crisis that is now pricing out everyday people right across the country,' she said. 'The government can't ignore the increasing number of Australians who are sleeping on streets and couches, forgoing food and medicine to pay rent, and living in unsafe and makeshift housing.' Ms Azize said warnings the government is unlikely to meet its ambitious housing target are further proof that relying on the private market alone won't work. The organisation said social housing has declined to around 4 per cent of all homes, down from 4.7 per cent in 2013. 'To reach six per cent social housing Australia must build more than 36,000 additional social housing dwellings every year for the next decade,' she said. 'If we want one in ten homes to be social housing, we need to build an extra 54,000 social homes every year for 20 years. 'Whichever way you look at it, the scale dwarfs current government commitments and lays bare both the enormous demand and decades of chronic underinvestment.' During Question Time on Wednesday, Opposition leader Sussan Ley pushed Mr Albanese on whether he would abandon his failing policies to tackle the housing crisis. In his defence, Albanese said Labor had 'inherited a decade of neglect' and it would take time to catch up. One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson said Australian cities were full, housing is unaffordable, and services are stretched to breaking point. She said One Nation will cut permanent and temporary migration and restore the population to a level the country can support. 'This isn't extreme. It's common sense,' she said. 'Mass migration must stop. The system is broken. Let's fix it and give our people the chance to thrive.' For many it is too late. Shocking new data from Homelessness Australia reveals a record surge in families stuck in temporary refuges, with thousands of mothers and children sleeping rough or crammed into crisis accommodation. CEO Kate Colvin said one reason for the dramatic deterioration in families and women being pushed further into crisis is rising rents, with Labor's investment in social housing failing to keep pace with demand. Ms Colvin said many were one health tragedy away from losing a stable roof over their heads. 'It's heartbreaking when you meet people who have cancer and due to the number of hospital visits they attend they can no longer work. They lose their home and end up living in their car because you can't afford rent on income support payments,' she said. 'I've spoken to lots of young people who have been in and out of refuges for years, slept in parks or are couch-surfing with dubious people. 'There's always someone who'll offer a 16-year-old girl a bed but it comes with obligations.' Ms Colvin said homelessness is increasing for all, but women and girls are copping the brunt of this crisis. 'The Prime Minister talks about leaving no one behind but the harsh reality is that with 45 per cent of women and girls seeking homelessness support having experienced domestic and family violence, more women and girls are returning to violent homes.' Housing and Homelessness Minister Clare O'Neil said the government has invested more than $1.2billion in crisis and transitional housing. 'We're acutely aware of just how complex the challenge of homelessness is, which is why we continue to listen to people with first-hand knowledge right across the homelessness sector,' she told the ABC.
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
On a roll: Who Gives a Crap toilet paper co-founder aims for ‘world domination'
It has been ubiquitous in middle class British bathrooms since a flush of growth during the Covid pandemic. Now Who Gives a Crap is aiming to wipe out the Andrex puppy, Cushelle's koala and Little Duck's little duck with a more ethical version of toilet roll. Its product, made from recycled paper or bamboo and wrapped in colourful paper, has risen rapidly to become the UK's third biggest non-supermarket brand. Now, the company – which claims to be the first ever online specialist loo roll maker – is aiming for 'world domination' with a rollout into Tesco supermarkets, and beyond. The Australian brand gives 50% of its profits to clean water and sanitation projects, and raising money for good causes is a key part of the company's purpose, according to its co-founder, Simon Griffiths. After experiments with a 'click to give' donations website and then a bar that sold beer and wine from developing countries, he settled on the idea of linking philanthropy to an everyday product that could reach every household. Griffiths says a trip to the loo inspired a 'quarter-second epiphany' on what that product could be, alongside the company's risque name and its mission to raise funds to provide access to clean water and sanitation in developing countries via partners including WaterAid. From the beginning, the company promised to donate half its profits to sanitation projects and as sales around the world have rapidly grown, it has raised close to £10m so far for projects such as eco-friendly waterless toilets in Kenya and school toilet blocks in Timor-Leste. Sales at its UK arm rose 17% to £45.5m in 2024 when operating profits more than doubled to £2.8m, according to the most recent figures available at Companies House. The company does not reveal international profits, but it donated £2.43m to sanitation projects last year, suggesting they have hit almost £5m. The brand is aiming to more than double donations to A$50m (£24m) by 2028 and within a decade collect 'hundreds of millions' of donations by adding new products and new countries. 'The reason why we exist is because there's still 2 billion people without access to adequate sanitation today, globally,' Griffiths says. 'If you're going to solve that problem that affects billions of people, you need to eventually be everywhere. That's not something we plan to do in the next 12 months. In 30 years' time, I think we will want to be in every supermarket in the UK.' The brand, which began online, is already in more than half of Australian supermarkets and went on to Tesco shelves earlier this month in the UK after launching in Whole Foods Market and Waitrose in 2023 . However, further expansion may be tough during a cost of living squeeze and the imposition of US tariffs on Chinese-made goods which is pushing up prices in what is now its biggest market – just ahead of the UK. Even in the UK, the ethical stance comes at a price for shoppers, with its 100% recycled rolls priced at 39p for 100 sheets for a six-pack at Tesco – on a par with Cushelle's six-pack but a considerable mark-up on the 16p for the supermarket's recycled own-brand and ahead of the 32p for 100 sheets for Andrex's 'family soft' nine-roll pack. He cheerfully admits that its success so far is down partly to the colourful paper wraps on its loo rolls, which people like to show off in their bathrooms, as much as its environmental and ethical considerations. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion From the outset the plan was to provide a stylish and ethical counterpoint to 'this sea of white and purple and different colours and pictures of puppies and pillows and feathers and things that were entirely unrelated to toilet paper' on supermarket shelves, Griffiths says. He has said the company might be only a fifth of the size it is today if it wasn't for the wrapping. Having started with 100% recycled loo roll made using waste – such as old letters and cardboard boxes – it now also sells a version made from bamboo. Other products include recycled tissues and, perhaps more controversially, recycled plastic bin bags and dog poo bags. The group is also expanding geographically including entering Canada this year – taking it to 37 countries in total. It is a long way from the toilet seat where Griffiths sat for 50 hours as part of a 2012 crowdfunding campaign that raised A$50,000 to back the first order and where it also signed up the brand's first 1,000 customers. Expansion today is underpinned by A$41.5m in 2021 from investors including Verlinvest, the Belgian investment company behind the oat milk Oatly and the fair trade chocolate brand Tony's Chocolonely. So far, a rising number of shoppers seem persuaded that the product is worth paying more for than bog-standard rivals and Griffiths insists it is more than a passing fad with every decision based on 'trying to do the right thing'. 'We've been around now for about 12 years in Australia. I don't think there's a risk of us kind of going out of fashion in the same way that you might see with clothing,' he says.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Family is torn apart as daughter sues parents for their real estate business and home after claiming she was promised everything while working unpaid for 22 years
A woman who took her parents to court to claim ownership of the family real estate business and home has been left with nothing. Paula-Marie Penya launched legal proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court after claiming she had been promised to run Matra Real Estate when her father Paul retired. Ms Penya claimed she had worked unpaid for 22 years and that her father promised she would be a 'rich little girl' if she always followed his instructions. But in 2018, her father retired and sold the agency, which had about 30 properties on its rent roll, to Century 21 Real Estate and he gave Ms Penya $5,000 from the sales. Paul also decided to sell his Eastlakes home, in Sydney 's eastern suburbs, which he owns with his ex-wife and Ms Penya's mother Therese. Ms Penya, her partner, two kids and mother had been living in the house. The father had told Ms Penya he would not sell the house if she could buy it from him, however she could not take out a loan as she was not employed. Ms Penya attempted to block the sale of the house under estoppel - a legal principle that prevents someone from asserting a right that contradicts a previous agreement or statement. 'I always relied on the promises from Dad and Mum that the business and house were going to be mine,' Ms Penya told the court. 'If this was not stated to me I would have worked somewhere else to receive a wage. 'Dad told me that I wouldn't get paid anything but it didn't matter because everything was going to be mine anyway,' she said in a deposition. 'He said that everything that he and Mum owned including the business and the Property would be mine, but if I needed money for anything I should just let him know and he would give me money, which he could do by getting a cash advance on his credit card.' Therese supported her daughter, sending Paul a text urging him to do the 'right thing'. 'Absolutely everybody is shocked at what you're doing to Paula and me!' she wrote. 'You have a few days to do the right thing… you want to leave Paula and her family and me in the street. 'Open your heart and mind to what God would want you to do.' In her deposition, Therese said she and Paul had discussed their daughter's future inheritance during their time running the agency. She said Paul said words to the effect of: 'I'm not paying Paula because she will inherit everything anyway, she's our only child'. She also recalled him saying: 'When Paula is ready, she will take over the business, it's all going to be hers one day anyway'. Paul denied such conversations. He also claimed his daughter had come to work in the business after returning from holidays and finding out Therese had fired the secretary and installed their daughter against his wishes. He said he gave his daughter opportunities to take over his business in 2018, but she refused. Ms Penya said she had begged him to wait one more year so she could put both her sons in school and focus on the business. During proceedings, the court also heard Paul had changed his will, revoking previous plans to leave his estate to his daughter. His new will named his long-term partner Irene as the beneficiary. Ms Penya's claims relied on the doctrine of proprietary estoppel by encouragement or, alternatively, common intention constructive trust or a constructive trust following the failure of an alleged joint endeavour. However, during closing submissions on the final day of the hearing, Ms Penya abandoned her pleaded claim relying on the doctrine of promissory estoppel. On Wednesday, Justice Kate Williams dismissed Ms Penya's claim, finding no 'clear and unequivocal promise' had been made. '[The evidence] provides no support for Paula-Marie's claim to have been promised that she would be given the business or the Eastlakes property during Paul's and Therese's lifetime in return for her working in the business without a wage,' she found. The court also noted that Ms Penya and her partner were able to purchase several investment properties over the past 20 years. The purchases were aided by their rent-free living situation at the Eastlakes home. Mr Penya was granted approval to sell the home, meaning his daughter and her family must vacate the property no later than seven days before the sale. 'I just got sick of it. It was all take, take, take,' Paul told the court. 'When they need money, when I had money they could get it, but when I was out, no money, now I was the bad one. 'I made them millionaires; they were useless.'
