As Australia prepares to implement mandatory climate disclosures under the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS), many organisations are finding themselves at the starting line of a major shift in corporate reporting.

The standard is now legally in force, and the first reports will be published in 2026, covering the 2025/26 financial year. That means now is the time to build the right systems, governance, and confidence to report with accuracy and ease.

The good news? Australian organisations don’t have to start from scratch. New Zealand, the UK, and several other markets have already gone through this process, and their lessons can help Australian companies avoid common pitfalls and start strong.

When Do ASRS Disclosures Start?

The ASRS standards are now legally active, with reporting phased in across three groups of entities.

The first mandatory reports under AASB S2 will be published in 2026, covering the 2025 financial year for the largest entities.

Why Do Mandatory Disclosures Matter?

Climate disclosure isn’t just about compliance. It’s about embedding climate risk and opportunity into core business decision-making. Done well, it demonstrates to investors the foresight required to builds stakeholder trust and strengthens long-term resilience.

When approached strategically, disclosure can accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and deliver real business value, not just tick a regulatory box.

Top Lessons from Early Adopters

We’ve supported dozens of organisations through their first climate disclosures under New Zealand’s mandatory XRB framework. Their experiences offer valuable guidance for Australian companies preparing for AASB S2.

Here are the lessons they learned the hard way so you don’t have to.

1. Start Early and Build for Repeatability

Organisations that treated their first climate disclosure as a one-off compliance task often found themselves redoing work the following year. The most successful early adopters invested time up front in building repeatable, reliable processes that scale with future requirements.

Establish clear documentation, assign ownership, and build an audit trail from day one. The payoff is smoother assurance and fewer surprises at year-end.

2. Strengthen Governance and Climate Capability

Strong project governance and executive understanding are critical. Many early reporters underestimated how much time boards and leadership teams would need to feel confident approving their first disclosures.

Invest early in climate literacy and clear governance structures across finance, sustainability, and operations. It ensures accountability and speeds up approval when disclosure season arrives.

3. Play the Long Game

Building disclosure maturity is a multi-year process, often taking five years or more to fully embed systems, culture, and confidence.

Set realistic internal expectations and communicate progress transparently. Regulators and investors value honesty and momentum over perfection.

4. Get Your Data House in Order

High-quality, transparent data is the foundation of credible reporting. Early reporters found that data gaps and inconsistent sources were the biggest barriers to assurance.

Focus on:

• Accuracy and consistency: standardise methods and definitions.
• Traceability: document sources and calculations.
• Automation: use specialised platforms to reduce manual effort and error.

A strong data foundation not only streamlines disclosures but also supports smarter decision-making year-round.

5. Avoid Greenwashing Through Transparency

Realistic targets and verifiable progress matter more than bold claims. The organisations that built credibility did so by backing every statement with data and being transparent about where they were still developing capability.

Authenticity builds trust, and trust builds resilience.

Turning Compliance into Opportunity

Mandatory disclosure doesn’t have to feel like red tape. It’s an opportunity to lead.

The organisations that approach Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards with structure, transparency, and intent will move faster, unlocking better risk insights, stronger investor confidence, and a competitive advantage in a low-carbon future.

Generate Zero’s platform has already supported leading organisations to deliver audit-ready, independently verified climate disclosures across multiple global frameworks, including XRB and ISSB. If you’re ready to get ahead of ASRS our team can help you build a clear, audit-ready path to disclosure.

Get in touch to book a demo >

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