Australia’s Climate Disclosure Bill is now Law!

It's no exaggeration to say this will be one of the greatest shifts in financial reporting and audit the industry has seen in decades.

The update as at Tuesday 17th September 2024

Following successful passage through the Senate on the 22nd of August, on September 9th, the Australian Government House of Representatives confirmed the Senate's amendments to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 to incorporate mandatory climate related disclosures. And on the 17th it has now received it's Royal Assent and officially become law!

This means Group 1 companies now have 3 months until mandatory climate reporting requirements kick in on January 1st 2025.

‍The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) is wrapping up the final touches on climate reporting standards this month as well, while the Australian Auditing and Assurance Board (AUASB) is working on assurance standards expected later this year too.

What should you do next if you're an accountant in practice or in a finance team?

✅ Refresh on the context behind this legislation - blog here.

✅ Skim over the actual legislation (or get the highlighters out, go wild)

✅ Get across the jobs to be done for the GHG accounting requirements - start the introduction to carbon accounting course and the assurance course by signing in to the Academy.

For companies who will need to report on emissions amongst other climate related financial disclosures, consider the teams internal capacity to start upskilling and remember your existing advisors can:

✅ Prepare a readiness assessment, identify gaps

✅ Complete a first pass scope 1, 2 and 3 assessment

✅ Help you improve systems and processes ready for reporting next year

If your current accountants can't do this, here's a directory of advisors who are leading in this space and certainly can.