By My CPE Pty Ltd | May 2026
Mandatory climate-related financial disclosures are now embedded within Australia’s corporate reporting framework, commencing with the largest reporting entities from 1 January 2025 and progressively expanding to other reporting groups over the coming years. These obligations arise under the Corporations Act and associated Australian Accounting Standards and are no longer considered voluntary ESG reporting or a discretionary sustainability initiative.
Entities captured under the new thresholds must prepare sustainability reports alongside their financial reports in accordance with the Australian Accounting Standards Board Standard AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures. This includes disclosures regarding governance oversight of climate risks and opportunities, the impact of climate change on strategy and financial performance, climate scenario analysis, transition planning, and the metrics and targets used to monitor performance, including Scope 1, Scope 2 and, where applicable, Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
These reforms form part of a broader transition towards sustainable finance, where capital allocation increasingly favours activities supporting decarbonisation, credible net zero transition pathways, and improved economic outcomes for First Nations communities. Transition finance has become a major focus area, particularly for emissions-intensive sectors seeking to demonstrate credible and science-aligned pathways towards lower emissions operations. This has significantly increased expectations around governance, reporting transparency, data integrity and the prevention of greenwashing.
At the same time, assurance expectations are rapidly strengthening. Sustainability disclosures will progressively move from limited assurance to reasonable assurance requirements by 2030, creating greater scrutiny over systems, controls, documentation and underlying climate-related data. The development of the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and the ASFI Sustainable Finance Capability Framework further reinforces the growing expectation that finance professionals possess practical capabilities in sustainability reporting, transition finance, governance, risk management and First Nations finance considerations.
For accountants, auditors, payroll professionals, finance teams and advisers, these reforms represent a significant shift in professional practice. Organisations will increasingly require practical support to interpret obligations, implement governance frameworks, collect and validate emissions and sustainability data, prepare transition plans, and mitigate greenwashing risk. The profession is moving beyond traditional financial reporting into integrated sustainability and climate-related reporting capability.
This is an emerging focus area within the education and professional development delivered by My CPE Pty Ltd, which is committed to supporting finance and accounting professionals in developing the practical skills required to operate within Australia’s evolving sustainable finance and disclosure environment. Through continuing professional education, industry-aligned learning and applied compliance training, My CPE Pty Ltd aims to help professionals understand both the technical reporting obligations and the operational impacts these reforms will have across finance, governance, payroll, risk and advisory functions.
This commitment is further strengthened through the leadership and industry contribution of the CEO of My CPE Pty Ltd, who serves on the Sustainable Financial Disclosures Committee with the Future Skills Organisation. This involvement contributes to the development of workforce capability frameworks and industry-informed education strategies designed to ensure Australia’s finance and accounting workforce is equipped for the transition to mandatory sustainability and climate-related disclosure reporting.
As regulatory scrutiny, investor expectations and assurance requirements continue to increase, finance professionals who build capability in sustainable finance disclosures now will be better positioned to support clients, strengthen governance outcomes, and operate as trusted advisers within a rapidly evolving regulatory environment.
Learn More: CPE125 Sustainable Financial Disclosures