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The purpose of this Alert is to draw attention to the Climate-related financial disclosure: exposure draft legislation consultation (Draft Legislation) published by the Australian Treasury on 12 January 2024. This draft legislation follows Treasury’s second consultation paper on the subject (June 2023).

Innovation is a key driver of productivity for businesses. To help them achieve their objectives, the government offers various programs such as the R&D Tax Incentive and government grants.

ESG has become a vital component to business, with increasing scrutiny on companies to achieve sustainability-related goals. By being aware of the increasing number of governance rules, you can put your business in a strong position to demonstrate your overarching ESG strategy. Join us as we examine how to add value to your ESG agenda through the latest global tax and ESG developments.

The release of global sustainability reporting standards, elevated activity from regulators, and the ever-increasing pressure from stakeholders on the ESG agenda have all contributed to a general raising of expectations on the progress of Sustainability Reporting.

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) has released the exposure drafts of three proposed Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards: [Draft] ASRS 1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information; [Draft] ASRS 2 Climate-related Disclosures, and [Draft] ASRS 101 References in Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards.

As this landscape shifts, family businesses must become aware of their carbon emissions and develop a proactive carbon reduction strategy, whether it be aiming for net zero or another reduction target.

Explore the dynamic world of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and its influence on today's regulatory landscape. Learn about sustainability, transparency, and reporting requirements while delving into tax implications. Gain insights into how businesses approach ESG and discover emerging consumer trends in this Navigating the New Normal podcast episode.

There have been some recent developments in the Australian market in relation to mandatory sustainability reporting, which is likely to significantly impact most companies required to prepare general purpose financial reports.

With environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and sustainability front of mind for all organisations and reporting requirements on the horizon, it’s important to understand what tax obligations are at play. As the ATO focuses on transparency and governance, it’s important to ensure tax obligations are appropriately incorporated in policies, frameworks, controls, and these are tested to ensure that the business is operating in line with the Group’s tax risk appetite.

We recently sat down with NSW Club leaders to discuss Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations on the Club industry in the short to medium term. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has now released their standard on Sustainability, and Treasury has sent a draft policy on how the standards will be adopted in Australia. Although there is no set guidance at this stage, it is most likely Clubs will need to adopt this standard in FY26.

As we approach the end of FY23 what are the key areas preparers of financial statements need to consider? Preparers of financial statements will breathe a sigh of relief to know there are no major changes to accounting standards applicable for FY23, however there are some amendments to existing standards to think about ahead of year end, as well as some on the horizon where early adoption may be worth considering.

While Net Zero targets have been on the agenda for years now, we’ve recently seen a rise in measures along the regulatory landscape. Across the globe, there’s been significant public and private investment to support and encourage sustainable practices, implement carbon policy, develop taxes on carbon footprint and plastic use, and more. In a rapidly changing regulatory environment where exporters need to adapt to new measures implemented across multiple jurisdictions, how can Australian businesses adapt? And what tax reforms can businesses expect domestically?