BCSDA submission on improving the efficiency of climate-related financial disclosures
BCSD Australia has lodged its submission to the Australian Treasury consultation on improving the efficiency of climate-related financial disclosures.
The submission was developed following review by the BCSDA Board and key Members, as well as engagement with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and draws on practical business experience, Treasury stakeholder roundtables and current regulator and standard-setter material.
BCSDA supports targeted reforms that reduce unnecessary cost, duplication and implementation friction while preserving decision-useful information, credible assurance, accountability and international alignment.
What BCSDA is recommending
BCSDA recommends that Australia:
retain limited assurance as the mandatory baseline, while allowing voluntary reasonable assurance and establishing a formal evidence-based review as reporting practice, data quality and market capability mature;
provide clearer implementation guidance, particularly for anticipated financial effects, Scope 3 reporting and other areas where inconsistent interpretation can increase cost or reduce comparability;
make Scope 3 and value-chain information requests more proportionate, recognising practical supplier capability, data availability and cost constraints;
enable greater reuse of existing NGER data, controls and assurance work where this can reduce unnecessary duplication without weakening reporting quality;
continue building sustainability-assurance capability, including climate, finance, organisational-risk and sector expertise; and
reduce duplicated reporting for multinational groups and Australian subsidiaries where equivalent group-level information can legitimately be relied upon while preserving material Australian entity-specific information and accountability.
The submission argues that the next phase of Australia’s climate-reporting regime should focus on making the system work efficiently in practice—not by weakening disclosure, but by removing duplication and improving the quality, consistency and usability of implementation.
BCSDA will continue to follow the Government response and the implications for reporting entities, assurance providers and businesses across Australian value chains.
Submitted: 2 October 2026 Published: 4 October 2026
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