Project AcaciaWorkstream Updates

Purpose: Establish a forum for regulators to identify and assess potential barriers to responsible innovation in wholesale markets, and to coordinate work to address those barriers where appropriate.

Status: This has been established and is meeting weekly.

Next steps: Coordinate activity to explore the sandbox and Treasury-led tokenised government bond initiatives.

Purpose: Explore ways to provide a safe environment for industry to progress tokenisation initiatives from experimentation to commercialisation, and for regulators to determine whether adjustments to regulatory settings might be appropriate.

Status: The RBA is completing initial design work for a sandbox, informed by feedback from a range of industry participants. This engagement has helped to identify key challenges and barriers industry participants face in transitioning from experimentation to commercial deployment, and the extent to which these could be addressed through a sandbox or regulatory incubator. The RBA has also engaged with peer central banks and monetary authorities to better understand overseas approaches to supporting innovation in tokenised wholesale markets.

Next steps: The Inter-agency Regulator Working Group will develop an initial model for consultation with a broader industry group.

Purpose: Undertake market analysis to inform future consideration of a tokenised Australian Government Bond, including opportunities and challenges associated with the issuance, trading, settlement and lifecycle management of tokenised government bonds.

Status: Treasury is continuing this market analysis with a view to providing advice to Government on the outcomes of the analysis and next steps.

Next steps: Treasury will finalise its market analysis and provide advice to Government on potential next steps for any tokenised Australian Government Bond issuance.

Purpose: Engage senior industry leaders on the opportunities and challenges associated with improving wholesale markets in Australia, including developments in international markets.

Status: Initial planning is underway.

Next steps: Confirm timing, objectives and invitees for the roundtable, with a view to holding the session in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Purpose: Reconstitute and expand the Industry Advisory Group from Project Acacia to act as a dedicated advisory forum and coordination body for industry priorities on tokenisation.

Status: The RBA and DFCRC ran an expression of interest process for this group between 4 and 20 August 2026. More than 100 individuals from industry expressed interest in participating. The group will support coordination, prioritisation and information sharing on tokenisation priorities in Australia, and provide input into the design of the proposed sandbox.

Next steps: DFCRC and the RBA will finalise a representative group of around 20 participants and convene the first meeting in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Purpose: Continue and expand the Deposit Token Working Group (DTWG) to deepen exploration into the potential form, functioning and interoperability of deposit tokens, in a risk-controlled environment.

Status: The RBA and DFCRC have called for expressions of interest to participate in a new DTWG. The group will build on the Project Acacia DTWG and move towards a build-and-test project to support interoperable deposit tokens.

Next steps: DFCRC and the RBA will finalise membership and re-launch the working group in the fourth quarter of 2026, with an initial focus on build-and-test priorities for interoperable deposit tokens.

Purpose: Support industry in establishing dedicated industry working groups to develop common frameworks or approaches that could support the development of tokenised asset markets, tokenised money and associated infrastructure enhancements.

Status: A range of ideas have been raised for additional working groups.

Next steps: Further working groups will be considered by the Tokenisation Advisory Group once it is established.

Purpose: Seek stakeholder views on how the RBA’s existing settlement services (RITS and the FSS) could support the responsible development of tokenised finance in the near term, and to identify the settlement services that may be needed over the longer term.

Status: The consultation paper has been published, and the consultation period will run from early September to late October 2026.

Next steps: Findings will inform the RBA’s assessment of stakeholder needs and priorities in relation to the current RITS environment and the broader RITS Modernisation Program, a multi-year initiative aimed at ensuring that RITS remains fit for the future.

Purpose: Assess whether the RBA’s account access arrangements structures could be adjusted to support non-bank payments service providers and stablecoin issuers.

Status: The RBA will commence a review of its access policy for exchange settlement accounts (ESA) following the implementation of the Government’s proposed licensing reforms for payment service providers.

Next steps: The RBA will undertake a review of its ESA policy following the passage of the proposed licensing reforms. The review will also incorporate feedback received from the industry consultation on the role of RITS in supporting tokenised settlement.

Purpose: Continue RBA exploration of the policy and operational issues associated with issuance of tokenised central bank reserves, including through its potential provision in a tokenisation sandbox for appropriate use cases.

Status: The industry consultation on the role of RITS in supporting tokenised settlement described above explores high-level considerations around different design options for tokenised central bank reserves. Issuing tokenised central bank reserves could enhance interaction between money and assets through greater programmability and atomic settlement but would take time to implement.

Next steps: The RBA will continue research in this area to support possible future issuance, if necessary.

Purpose: Explore with international and domestic partners the ways in which private and/or public tokenised money, or new uses of the RBA’s existing settlement infrastructure, could enhance the speed and safety of cross-border payments.

Status: The RBA is exploring opportunities to work with other central banks and financial institutions on wholesale cross-border payments.

Next steps: The RBA will identify potential international and domestic partners and define the next phase of work on wholesale cross-border payments.