The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released Issue 3 of its Reporting and audit update, outlining developments in sustainability reporting, financial reporting and audit. The update introduces new educational modules for Australia’s sustainability reporting requirements, implements a new online lodgement form for sustainability reports, and reports enforcement action against large proprietary companies for late financial report lodgements. ASIC and the Australian Accounting Standards Board released eight sustainability reporting learning modules (now available as PDFs), covering the Corporations Act framework, climate risk and opportunity concepts, emissions accounting (including Scope 1, 2 and 3), scenario analysis, and integration into governance and risk management. ASIC also added three entries to its sustainability reporting and audit relief decisions register, describing in-principle refusals of relief requests including proposals to prepare consolidated sustainability reports without a control relationship or with a partnership as the purported parent, and reiterating that relief is prospective and applications close to statutory deadlines may be refused. For lodgement, ASIC made Form 398 (Copy of sustainability report and auditor’s report) available through its online portals and confirmed it can also be used for voluntary sustainability reports and reports prepared as conditions of certain ASIC exemptions, with lodged reports appearing on the public register via ASIC Connect. On financial reporting compliance, ASIC issued infringement notices to 12 large proprietary companies for allegedly failing to lodge FY24 audited financial reports on time following a three-month surveillance, and signalled further surveillance work in 2026. Separately, ASIC summarised legislative amendments extending temporary modified liability settings for certain “protected statements” to voluntary sustainability reports and specified relief-condition reports (and their accompanying auditor’s reports), and extending assurance requirements and ASIC’s directions power to those reports, with updates to Regulatory Guide 280 and related FAQs to follow. ASIC also updated Regulatory Guide 26 to reflect that, from 16 June 2025, Australian financial services licensees can use the AFS licensing portal to seek consent to remove an auditor and to notify auditor appointments or cessations.
Australian Securities & Investments Commission 2026-02-20
Australian Securities and Investments Commission publishes reporting and audit update with sustainability reporting modules, new Form 398 lodgement and 12 infringement notices
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released its Reporting and Audit Update Issue 3, highlighting developments in sustainability and financial reporting, including new educational modules and an online lodgement form for sustainability reports. ASIC issued infringement notices to 12 large proprietary companies for late FY24 financial report lodgements and plans further surveillance in 2026. Legislative amendments extend modified liability settings and assurance requirements to voluntary sustainability reports, with updates to Regulatory Guides 280 and 26 forthcoming.