Australia’s corporate regulator has released the first set of educational materials aimed at helping smaller companies and report preparers understand and apply the country’s new sustainability reporting requirements.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the requirements are new to Australia and introduce additional obligations for directors and reporting entities, while also affecting small and medium-sized enterprises that support those entities in their reporting processes.
ASIC worked with the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) to develop eight learning modules covering the sustainability reporting framework. PDF versions of the first three modules were released on Tuesday.
ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said the regulator recognised concerns among smaller companies about how the new requirements would apply to them. She added that ASIC was committed to helping industry build the capability needed to meet the new obligations.
The educational materials are intended to help stakeholders identify climate-related risks and opportunities that could affect their businesses, which ASIC said are foundational steps in meeting sustainability reporting requirements.
Although the modules were designed primarily for smaller reporting entities and SMEs that supply larger reporting companies, ASIC said the resources would also be useful for any report preparer new to sustainability reporting, as well as other participants in the climate reporting ecosystem.
The first module introduces the new sustainability reporting requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 and explains how stakeholders should engage with the materials. The second module outlines the basics of climate change, while the third focuses on climate-related physical risks.
ASIC said Modules 4 and 5 would be published by the end of the month, with the remaining modules to be released in the first quarter of 2026. Later modules will cover topics including climate-related opportunities and emissions accounting.
To encourage broader industry engagement, ASIC plans to make all eight modules available in an interactive format in the first quarter of 2026. The regulator will also hold a series of workshops to support the rollout of the materials, with further details to be announced in early 2026.
