After Australia’s Securities and Investment Committee, ASIC, adopts climate-related financial reporting in all large-scale enterprises and financial institutions from 1 January 2025, Australia officially enters a new era of corporate responsibility. Even though it’s been six months, many businesses are still having trouble with the practical aspects of climate-related financial reports. While others are already setting benchmarks for transparency and compliance.
This shift, driven by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Act 2024, has transformed how businesses report on environmental risks. But with phased implementation now well underway, the key question for directors and compliance leaders is clear: where does your business stand?
At Anitech, we work with businesses across industries to help them not just meet these new standards but to use them as a foundation for sustainable growth, trust, and long-term value creation. We came up with this blog to alert businesses to the upcoming consequences. Through this blog, you will easily understand where your business stands today and what your future steps should be for the ESG mandate.
What Changed at the Start of 2025?
From January 2025, Australian companies (large-scale enterprises and financial institutions) were required to begin climate risk reporting as part of their general-purpose financial statements. The legislation affects entities meeting two of the following thresholds:
- Consolidated $500 million or more in revenue
- EOFY consolidated gross assets of $1 billion or more
- 500 employees or more
These Group 1 entities are now legally required to disclose:
- Scope 1 and 2 emissions (with Scope 3 required from year two).
- Governance and strategy regarding climate risks.
- Risk management processes.
- Metrics and targets for emissions and climate impact.
All disclosures must align with the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS), modelled on global frameworks like IFRS S2.
This isn’t a soft rollout. ASIC and the Treasury made it clear: businesses should have been preparing long before the year began.
Where Businesses Stand Now: July 2025
Six months into the reporting year, the divide is stark:
- Prepared organisations have ESG frameworks, data pipelines, and governance committees in place.
- Unprepared companies are scrambling to catch up, often missing interim reporting checkpoints or underestimating the data complexity.
Common issues we’re seeing across industries include:
- Lack of clarity on Scope 3 emissions
- Underdeveloped assurance processes
- Unclear lines of governance and accountability
- Limited integration of climate strategy into financial risk planning
Why This Matters More Than Ever
1. Compliance Is Now a Legal Obligation
This is no longer an optional part of ESG reporting in Australia. If you’re a Group 1 entity and fail to report in your annual statements, you’re in breach of the Corporations Act.
2. Investors Are Watching
Increased regulatory scrutiny has come hand-in-hand with greater market expectations. Lenders, shareholders, and investors now expect climate disclosure in Australia to be consistent, credible, and decision-useful.
3. Supply Chain Pressure Is Growing
Even businesses not currently required to report are now receiving ESG and carbon data requests from their larger clients and supply chain partners, especially where Scope 3 emissions are in focus.
What This Means for SMEs
SME businesses may not be directly entitled to report, as they do not fall into the 3 categories of mandatory reporting. However, if your clients or partners fall into the reporting categories, they’ll need to disclose Scope 3 emissions, which include those generated by their value chain.
As a result, larger companies will begin requesting emissions data and sustainability information from their suppliers. SMEs that can’t provide this may risk losing opportunities or being excluded from preferred vendor lists.
Now is the time for smaller businesses to assess their exposure, understand client expectations, and start preparing basic climate data and ESG policies to stay competitive.
What You Should Have in Place by Now
By July 2025, ASIC and climate governance experts recommend that entities should already have:
- A dedicated climate reporting lead or committee
- Clear data systems capturing emissions and climate risk
- Draft alignment with ASRS requirements
- Plans for a limited assurance engagement
- Integration of climate-related risks into broader financial planning
If your organisation hasn’t achieved these milestones, you’re likely behind the curve—but not too late to catch up.
What If You’re Not There Yet?
Don’t panic, but don’t delay; this is the ideal time to:
- Conduct a gap assessment.
- Identify gaps in data, governance, and assurance.
- Engage climate and reporting professionals.
- Start drafting disclosures for review ahead of audit season.
ASIC has signalled that while enforcement will consider context, there will be no tolerance for inaction.
How Anitech Supports Climate Reporting Compliance
At Anitech, we specialise in helping businesses:
- By understanding and implementing mandatory climate disclosure standards.
- Design ESG governance and assurance frameworks.
- Build internal systems for climate risk reporting.
- Train leadership teams on disclosure obligations.
- Align climate strategy with business planning and risk management.
We focus on compliance that fits your organisation—efficient, realistic, and scalable.
Our strength lies in bridging legislation with practical execution. We ensure our reports meet regulatory requirements and will comply with the upcoming 3rd-party assurance requirements.
Looking Ahead: What Comes Next?
July is not the end of the process of climate exposure; it’s the middle point. Looking forward to FY2025-26 and beyond:
- Group 2 entities will join the framework in July 2026.
- Assurance requirements will become stricter over time, transitioning from limited to reasonable assurance.
- Stakeholder expectations will continue to rise as climate accountability becomes standard in global markets.
The organisations that treat this shift as strategic will gain a clear advantage.
Final Takeaway
Mandatory climate disclosure is here, active, and enforceable. If your business is still treating climate reporting as a compliance side task, it’s time to reassess. The bar has moved, and it’s not coming back down.
At Anitech, we’re here to help you meet this moment. With tailored, practical, and strategic ESG support, we’ll guide you through the complexity so you can focus on building a more responsible, future-ready business.
Need help meeting your 2025 climate disclosure obligations? Contact Anitech today for tailored ESG reporting and compliance support.
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