Climate-Related Disclosure Bill Passes Australian Parliament

Written By Green Base

The mandatory Climate-related Financial Disclosure policy has officially been passed into law by the Australian Parliament on 9 September 2024. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 makes changes primarily to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

The legislation will require large Australian entities and NGER reporters to disclose their climate risks and opportunities through annual sustainability reports, marking a significant shift in corporate reporting practices. The mandatory climate reporting standards will be implemented in a three-phase approach, starting from 1 January 2025 for entities meeting the Group 1 threshold.

Fig. 1: Reporting entities of Group 1, 2 and 3 and its timeframe

These disclosures cover an entity’s:

  • Governance over climate-related risk and opportunities,

  • Strategic approach to operating in a warming climate and a society that is decarbonising,

  • Management process used in assessing these risks and opportunities, and

  • Metrics and targets for the entity that relate to climate and this includes Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions reporting.

All of these disclosures will require an annual audit and will be regulated by ASIC.

At Greenbase, we have been actively preparing our clients to make these disclosures. If you have any questions or would like to conduct a Readiness Assessment for your organisation, please reach out to our Senior Consultant, Fraser, at projects@greenbase.com.au or make an enquiry. 

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Green Base
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