On 28th January 2025 the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) approved the adoption of international standard ISSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements in Australia. This standard will apply to sustainability assurance engagements for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025.
ISSA 5000 was formally launched by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board on 27 January 2025.
Final phasing of assurance for mandatory climate reporting
For mandatory climate reporting under the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act), ASSA 5000 (the Australian equivalent of ISSA 5000 referred to above) will be subject to the phasing in of limited and reasonable assurance. This phasing in timetable is contained in AUASB standard ASSA 5010 Timeline for Audits and Reviews of Information in Sustainability Reports under the Corporations Act 2001, which the AUASB also formally approved on 28th January 2025.
Mandatory reporting under the Act commences at different times for each of three groups of entities. These groups and timelines are detailed in our earlier article of 11th September 2024.
Under the Act, the auditor of an entity’s financial report is also required to provide assurance over the mandatory climate information in an annual report. The following table shows the final position reached by the AUASB on the phasing in of limited and reasonable assurance over the information required by AASB S2 Climate-related disclosures for each of the three groups of entities (note that earlier assurance than the dates indicated below is permitted).
| Years commencing | Year 1* | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 onwards** |
| Group 1 | 1/1/25 to 30/6/26 | 1/7/26 to 30/06/27 | 1/7/27 to 30/06/28 | 1/7/28 to 30/6/29 |
| Group 2 | 1/7/26 to 30/6/27 | 1/7/27 to 30/6/28 | 1/7/28 to 30/6/29 | 1/7/29 to 30/6/30 |
| Group 3 | 1/7/27 to 30/6/28 | 1/7/28 to 30/6/29 | 1/7/29 to 30/6/30 | 1/7/30 to 30/6/31 |
| Governance | Limited | Limited | Limited | Reasonable |
| Strategy – Risks and Opportunities *** | Limited**** | Limited | Limited | Reasonable |
| Climate Resilience Assessments/ Scenario Analysis | None | Limited | Limited | Reasonable |
| Transition Plans | None | Limited | Limited | Reasonable |
| Risk Management | None | Limited | Limited | Reasonable |
| Scope 1 and 2 Emissions | Limited | Limited | Limited | Reasonable |
| Scope 3 Emissions | N/A | Limited | Limited | Reasonable |
| Climate-related Metrics and Targets | None | Limited | Limited | Reasonable |
* Group 1 entities with years commencing 1 January to 30 June will be subject to the Year 1 provisions twice (e.g. years commencing 1/1/25 and 1/1/26). Reporting of Scope 3 emissions is required for years commencing 1/1/26 to 30/6/26 for these Group 1 entities.
** Years commencing from 1/7/30 to 30/6/31 for Group 3 entities. From that time reasonable assurance is required by the Act for all mandatory climate disclosures.
*** The phasing for assurance on statements that there are no material climate-related risks and opportunities would be the same as for ‘Strategy – Risks and Opportunities’.
**** Assurance requirements will only apply to disclosures prepared for the purpose of complying with subparagraphs 9(a), 10(a) and 10(b) of AASB S2.
Limited assurance means a review of information included in the sustainability report.
Reasonable assurance means an audit of the information included in the sustainability report.
Final AUASB Standards
The final versions of ASSA 5000 and ASSA 5010 are available on the AUASB website.
