ASSA 5010

This standard applies to assurance engagements on sustainability information in a sustainability report for a financial year under Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act).

This standard is operative for financial years commencing from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2030.

The Act requires certain entities that prepare annual financial reports under Chapter 2M of the Act to also prepare an annual sustainability report to accompany the financial report. 

The sustainability report for a financial year consists of:

1. the climate statement for the year required by the Sustainability Standards;
2. any notes to the climate statements required by the Sustainability Standards or a legislative instrument made by the Minister under subsection 296A(4);
3. any statements and notes relating to other financial matters concerning environmental sustainability required by a legislative instrument made by the Minister under subsection 296A(5); and
4. the directors’ declaration about the statements and the notes.^[1]

Paragraph C3 in Appendix C of the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standard AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures (AASB S2) provides that an entity is not required to provide comparative information in the first annual reporting period that it applies that standard.

The Act requires:

1. Sustainability reports for financial years commencing on or after 1 July 2030 to be audited.^[2]
2. The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) to make auditing standards for financial years commencing 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2030 that specify the extent to which information in the sustainability report must be audited and/or reviewed.^[3]

This standard uses the terms auditor, audit and review which are consistent with the Act. For the avoidance of doubt, the following terms used in the AUASB’s Standards are to be read as having the same meaning as the terms used in the Act shown in the table below when conducting an audit or review of information in a sustainability report:

The objective of this standard is to specify the information in a sustainability report that is required to be audited and/or reviewed in accordance with Australian Standard on Sustainability Assurance ASSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements for each relevant financial year.

Unless otherwise stated, terms used in this standard have the same meaning as those terms have for the purposes of Chapter 2M of the Act. The following terms have the meanings attributed below:

AASB S2 – Australian Sustainability Reporting Standard AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures.

Auditor – the audit firm, audit company or individual auditor of the entity for the purposes of Chapter 2M of the Act.

Group 1 entities – in this standard: 

i. entities to which paragraph 1707B(1)(a) of the Act applies; and 

ii. entities that apply paragraph 1707DA(1) of the Act for the first time for a year commencing on or after 1 January 2025 but on or before 30 June 2026.

Group 2 entities – in this standard: 

i. entities to which paragraph 1707B(1)(b) of the Act applies (other than an entity to which the definition of 'Group 1 entities' in this standard applies); 

ii. entities that apply paragraph 1707DA(1) of the Act for the first time for a year commencing on or after 1 July 2026 but on or before 30 June 2027; and

iii. entities that applied 1707DA(1) for a financial year and did not report under the Act for the following financial year that commenced before 1 July 2027.

Group 3 entities – in this standard: 

i. entities to which paragraph 1707B(1)(c) of the Act applies (other than an entity to which the definition of 'Group 1 entities' or 'Group 2 entities' in this standard applies); 

ii. entities that apply paragraph 1707DA(1) of the Act for the first time for a year commencing on or after 1 July 2027 but on or before 31 December 2027; and

iii. entities that applied s1707DA(1) for a financial year but not for a following financial year and recommenced reporting under the Act for a year that commenced before 1 January 2028, other than an entity that meets the definition of a Group 2 entity in paragraph (d).

First year of reporting – the first financial year commencing: 

1. For Group 1 entities – from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2026; 
2. For Group 2 entities – 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027; 
3. For Group 3 entities – 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2028.

Second year of reporting – the first financial year commencing: 

1. For Group 1 entities – 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027; 
2. For Group 2 entities – 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2028; 
3. For Group 3 entities – 1 July 2028 to 30 June 2029.

Third year of reporting – the first financial year commencing;

1. For Group 1 entities – 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2028;
2. For Group 2 entities – 1 July 2028 to 30 June 2029;
3. For Group 3 entities – 1 July 2029 to 30 June 2030.

Fourth year of reporting – the first financial year commencing on or after:

1. For Group 1 entities – 1 July 2028;
2. For Group 2 entities – 1 July 2029;
3. For Group 3 entities – 1 July 2030.

Sustainability Report – A sustainability report required under section 292A of the Act (see section 9 of the Act). 

Sustainability Standards – those standards made for the purposes of the Act pursuant to section 336A of the Act.

Subject to paragraph 11, information in the sustainability report shall be subject to audit and / or review as follows:

1. For the First Year of Reporting the auditor shall conduct a review over the disclosures (including related general disclosures in Appendix D to AASB S2) relating to: 
   1. Governance in accordance with paragraph 6 of AASB S2;
   2. Strategy (risks and opportunities) in accordance with subparagraphs 9(a), 10(a) and 10(b) of AASB S2; 
   3. Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with subparagraphs 29(a)(i)(1) to (2) and 29(a)(ii) to (v) of AASB S2; and
   4. Any statement that there are no material risks or opportunities relating to climate and how that applies to the entity under s296B(1)(c) and (d) of the Act or any similar statement otherwise made in the sustainability report. 
2. For the Second and Third Years of Reporting, the auditor shall conduct a review of all disclosures in the sustainability report (including related general disclosures in Appendix D to AASB S2).
3. From the Fourth Year of Reporting onwards the auditor shall conduct an audit over all disclosures in the sustainability report.
4. The auditor is not prevented by (a) and (b) from:
   1. conducting an audit of any information in the sustainability report for a financial year in which a review of that information is otherwise required; and/or
   2. conducting an audit or review of any information in the sustainability report for a financial year in which an audit or review of that information is not required.

Where the sustainability report is required to, or does, include comparative information and, subject to the provisions of other ASSAs on comparative information:

1. That information was not required to be, and was not, subject to assurance for the purposes of a publicly available report for the previous financial year, that comparative information is not required to be subject to assurance in the current year; and
2. That information was required to be, or was, subject to limited assurance for the purposes of a publicly available report for the previous financial year, that comparative information is not required to be subject to reasonable assurance in the current year.

(Ref: Para. 10)