ASIC and the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) will host a series of free in-person workshops to help companies prepare for the new mandatory sustainability reporting requirements.

The joint workshops are designed to provide a practical starting point for smaller and mid-size companies at the beginning of their sustainability reporting journey, particularly those preparing to commence reporting for financial years commencing on or after 1 July 2026.

Employees, directors, shareholders, creditors and owners and operators of small-to-medium businesses seeking to enhance their understanding of the foundational concepts around sustainability reporting are strongly encouraged to attend the workshops.

This follows ASIC’s recent release of e-learning modules on the core concepts underpinning the sustainability reporting requirements.

The workshops complement the e-learning modules by providing participants the opportunity to network and share practical insights about the modules with peers at a similar stage in their transition to sustainability reporting.

The workshops will feature expert-led presentations, discussions and practical activities to help participants apply key concepts with confidence. Participants will learn about:

• the basics of climate science
• climate-related physical risks
• climate-related transition risks, and
• climate-related opportunities.

Workshops will be held in May across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and will be delivered by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

Express your interest

To attend the workshops, please register your interest by clicking on the relevant link below. ASIC encourages you to register early as places are limited.

Background

The sustainability reporting requirements are new for Australia and impose new obligations on directors and reporting entities, and can also affect small and medium-sized companies that support reporting entities.

ASIC has partnered with the AASB to develop eight educational modules on sustainability reporting:

• Module 1: Corporations Act and climate-related disclosure requirements
• Module 2: Introduction to climate change
• Module 3: Climate-related physical risks
• Module 4: Climate-related transition risks
• Module 5: Climate-related opportunities
• Module 6: Emissions accounting
• Module 7: Scenario analysis
• Module 8: Governance and risk management

ASIC is focused on supporting industry implementation of the sustainability reporting requirements through engagement, guidance and capacity building. ASIC will be pragmatic and proportionate in its approach to supervision and enforcement as the new requirements are phased in and as industry adjusts to the requirements.

Other resources

For more information, refer to ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 280 Sustainability reporting (RG 280), educational modules on sustainability reporting and article on what small businesses need to know. These are intended to help reporting entities understand whether they are required to prepare a sustainability report, and when those reporting obligations apply.

Refer to the AASB’s Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards webpage for more information on the standards, and refer to AASB S2 Knowledge Hub to access educational materials on AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures.

For information about the sustainability assurance standard, refer to the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (AUASB) Sustainability Assurance webpage and to access educational materials, refer to AUASB’s Sustainability Assurance Educational Materials.

ASIC is Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator.