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Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) have both recently published FAQs providing guidance on the use of the different auditors for financial reporting audit and sustainability reporting assurance.

On 12 January 2024, Treasury released draft legislation on mandatory climate-related financial disclosures in Australia. Subject to the legislation being enacted by Parliament and receiving Royal Assent by the end of June 2024, the legislation will be in force for financial years commencing on or after 1 July 2024.

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.

On 3 November 2021, the High Court of Australia handed down a landmark decision, ruling that the “backpacker tax” imposed on a UK national who was deemed to be an Australian tax resident was in breach of the non-discrimination clauses in the Australia-UK Double Tax Agreement.

Following the recent Parliamentary Inquiry into class actions and public debate around regulatory settings during COVID-19, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced his intention to legislate permanent reform to continuous disclosure laws.