Australia proposes reforms to reduce climate reporting costs

The Australian Treasury has launched a consultation on proposed efficiency-enhancing measures designed to reduce the compliance costs associated with mandatory climate-related financial disclosures. The reforms aim to lower the reporting burden on companies and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) within supply chains without compromising the credibility or international comparability of the data.

Key proposals under review include adjusting the transition from limited to reasonable assurance for climate disclosures. Options include maintaining limited assurance, delaying the requirement for reasonable assurance until 2035, or applying stricter standards only to mature metrics like Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Additionally, the government is seeking to establish clearer boundaries for Scope 3 data requests to prevent excessive information burdens on value chain partners.

Australia's mandatory reporting regime, introduced in 2024, began applying to the largest companies and asset owners in 2025. The rollout is scheduled to expand to medium-sized companies in 2026 and smaller entities in 2027. Previous government actions have already included plans to raise reporting thresholds to exempt companies with revenues under A$100 million and assets under $50 million.