Australia Develops Varied Uses For Blockchain

Australian Government keenly promotes use of blockchain in several sectors, including the public sector:

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In line with the Australian Government’s support for innovations in technology, there has been sustained attention in the country on blockchain and several blockchain initiatives, including industry-specific trials in financial services, energy, agriculture and the public sector are now underway. There are several fintechs in the country, which have created use cases for blockchain, like managing supply chains, making cross-border payments, trading derivatives, managing assets, and managing digital currency exchanges. Similarly, in the public sector, the Government has considered blockchain application with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to validate the dealer history of cars in a hackathon around Luxury Car Tax compliance. The Government’s National Disability Insurance Scheme has also experimented with blockchain and the New Payments Platform to create ‘smart money that has the capability of managing insurance payouts, budgeting, and trust management.

SYSTEM FOR EXCHANGES

Likewise, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has proposed a new blockchain-based system covering clearing, settlement, asset registration, and other post-trade services. Three of Australia’s 4 major banks have partnered with IBM and Scentre Group for a trial in managing bank guarantees for retail property leases on the blockchain, reducing the issuance period for a bank guarantee from up to a month to the same day.