Our New Independent Report Quantifies $24b Digital Finance Opportunity for Australia

The report, Unlocking Australia’s $24b Digital Finance Opportunity: The Economic Impact Potential of Digital Finance Innovation in Australia, quantifies what many in industry have long understood: digital finance innovation represents a material economic opportunity for Australia.

The findings are clear.

Australia could realise up to $24 billion per year in economic gains through digital finance innovation. This is equivalent to approximately 1 per cent of GDP.

These gains are concentrated across three core areas:

• Better markets – $10 billion per year
• Better payments – $8 billion per year
• Better assets – $6 billion per year

The modelling identifies tokenisation as a key driver of efficiency gains, particularly in high-turnover asset classes. The highest potential annual gains were identified in:

• Foreign exchange – $7.2 billion per year
• Investment funds – $2.2 billion per year
• Public debt – $1.3 billion per year
• Public equity – $1 billion per year

However, the research also identifies a significant realisation gap.

On its current trajectory, Australia is projected to capture only around $1 billion per year by 2030, primarily due to regulatory barriers, uncertainty and coordination challenges.

The report outlines three priority policy actions to accelerate the capture of these gains:

Establish a dedicated Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (DFMI) sandbox to support transition from pilot to production.

Evolve the licensing framework for tokenised financial markets and DFMI to complete Australia’s modern digital finance regulatory architecture.

Deploy foundational infrastructure, including tokenised Government bonds and wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency within a DFMI sandbox environment.

This research provides the evidence base policymakers have been asking for. It quantifies the economic upside and outlines practical, targeted steps to close the gap between potential and realisation.

As CEO of DECA, I believe this marks a pivotal moment. We now have robust, independent modelling that clearly articulates the scale of opportunity and the urgency of coordinated action.

We encourage all members to read the full report and to consider how these findings can inform your own engagement with government, regulators and stakeholders.

Full report: https://dfcrc.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/260303_DFCRC_Economic+Impact+Report_V7_Single.pdf

One-page summary: https://dfcrc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/260302_DFCRC_One-Page-Summary_V6_Digital.pdf

Four-page summary: https://dfcrc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/260227_DFCRC_Four-Page-Summary_V6_Web_Compressed.pdf

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Amy-Rose Goodey
CEO
Digital Economy Council of Australia (DECA)
amy-rose@deca.org.au