Islamic finance in Australia: history and development

Over the past four decades or so, Islamic Finance has made impressive strides. As of 2012, it was reported that USD1.6 trillion of Islamic Finance assets were managed in Shariah-compliant accounts around the world. An additional substantial sum is represented by Sukuk, or Islamic bonds. Notably too, the development of Islamic Finance is not limited to Islamic countries, Global institutions such as HSBC, JP Morgan and others, have begun to offer Shariah-compliant financial services through their worldwide networks. The approach of the study is not supplemented by any empirical work. The method employed in this study is a mixture of direct observation from the legal and regulatory perspectives, literature reviews and the authors' personal experience and association with this industry. Through examining the above, this paper shall discuss the history, development and current issues of Islamic Finance in Australia