Glossary›AASB S2 disclosure requirements / AASB S2 mechanics›AASB S2 vs IFRS S2 (Australian modifications)
Glossary term
Cluster C · C4
Tier 1 · differentiator
AASB S2 vs IFRS S2 (Australian modifications)
Definition
AASB S2 is the Australian version of IFRS S2. It carries the international text with a defined set of Australian modifications, marked with an “Aus” prefix or shown as deletions. The differences that change what an entity actually discloses are the removal of industry-based metrics, a fixed IPCC assessment for global warming potentials, a standalone Appendix D, and a three-group commencement schedule.
On this page
In practice
Four modifications change what an Australian entity has to do. A fifth, commencement, changes when.
Industry-based metrics are removed. This is the most consequential modification. IFRS S2 paragraphs 12, 23, 28(b), 32, 37, B65(d) and B67 require an entity to disclose industry-based metrics and to refer to and consider the applicability of the industry-based disclosure topics defined in the ISSB’s Industry-based Guidance on Implementing IFRS S2. The AASB modified or omitted those requirements so that an entity applying AASB S2 is not required to disclose industry-based metrics or to consider those disclosure topics, and also omitted the definition of “disclosure topic” from Appendix A. In the Australian text, paragraphs 12, 23, 32 and 37 read “[Deleted by the AASB]”, paragraph 28(b) reads “[deleted by the AASB]”, and the “disclosure topic” entry in Appendix A reads “[Deleted by the AASB]”. An entity reporting under AASB S2 has no SASB-derived sector obligation.
Aus23.1 replaces the deleted paragraph 23 with a cross-industry-only requirement. Where IFRS S2 paragraph 23 required an entity preparing paragraphs 13 to 22 disclosures to consider both cross-industry metric categories and industry-based metrics, Aus23.1 requires it to refer to and consider the applicability of cross-industry metric categories only, as described in paragraph 29. The obligation survives; its industry-based half does not.
AusB22.1 fixes the global warming potential source. Appendix B paragraphs B21 and B22 require conversion of the seven constituent greenhouse gases to CO2 equivalent using 100-year global warming potential values from the latest IPCC assessment available at the reporting date. AusB22.1 states that for those two paragraphs, the latest IPCC assessment available at the reporting date means the Sixth Assessment Report. IFRS S2 leaves this to the preparer’s determination; the Australian text fixes it. The effect is that an Australian entity has a single correct GWP source and cannot arrive at a different answer from a peer by reading “latest” differently. It bites mainly where an entity calculates from a gas-quantity lookup table, refrigerants being the common case.
AASB S1 is voluntary, so AASB S2 was made standalone. IFRS S2 is designed to be applied alongside IFRS S1. Because AASB S1 is voluntary in Australia, the AASB incorporated the necessary IFRS S1 content into AASB S2 as Appendix D, so an entity applying AASB S2 complies with AASB S2 alone and need not consider AASB S1. Aus7.1 and Aus26.1 clarify that the duplication-avoidance requirements in paragraphs 7 and 26 matter particularly where an entity does elect to apply AASB S1 voluntarily as well. This is also why AASB S2 has two B-numbered appendices, which is a live citation hazard rather than a substantive difference.
Two further modifications are structural rather than disclosure-changing. The reporting entity requirement in Appendix D was modified to specify that climate-related financial disclosures are for the same reporting entity as the related financial statements unless otherwise permitted by law, reflecting section 292A(2) of the Corporations Act, which lets a parent prepare a sustainability report for either the consolidated entity or the parent entity. And, consistent with the Legislation Act 2003, AASB S2 specifies the relevant versions of the non-legislative Australian and foreign documents it references. Not-for-profit entities also refer to the Framework descriptions of “general purpose financial reports” and “primary users” rather than the Appendix A definitions.
Commencement. IFRS S2 has a single effective date. AASB S2 applies on the Corporations Act’s three-group schedule, and each entity gets its Appendix C first-year reliefs in its own first reporting period rather than in a fixed calendar year.
What is not modified. The four-pillar structure, the scenario analysis and climate resilience requirements at paragraph 22 and Appendix B paragraphs B1 to B18, the seven cross-industry metrics at paragraph 29, and the target disclosures at paragraphs 33 to 36 all carry the IFRS S2 position. In particular, there is no Australian modification requiring a particular number of scenarios or a particular temperature pathway. There is no two-pathway requirement, no mandated 1.5°C or high-warming scenario, and no minimum number of scenarios. Paragraphs Aus22.1 and Aus22.2 do not exist.
What the assurer does with it
The assurer checks which version of the standard the basis of preparation names, and whether the disclosures match it. The common finding is an entity that has built a SASB-derived metrics set because its global parent or its software assumed IFRS S2 applied. That is not a breach, because voluntary additional disclosure is permitted, but it becomes assurable content the entity chose to take on.
They reject a basis of preparation that cites IFRS S2 as the standard applied, since the statutory obligation is to AASB S2. They also test the global warming potential source against AusB22.1, because a factor set built on an earlier IPCC assessment produces a different answer on the same activity data.
Commonly confused with
IFRS S2 itself, and AASB S1. An entity with an overseas parent reporting under IFRS S2 may be asked for an industry-metrics pack its Australian obligation does not require.
Sources
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Review status
Review required
Last reviewed
15 September 2026
Editorial pass, unsigned
Reviewer required
Registered company auditor
Next scheduled review
1 January 2027
Part of
Cluster C, AASB S2 disclosure requirements / AASB S2 mechanics
25 terms on what the climate disclosure standard actually requires, pillar by pillar, plus the reliefs and the effort standard.
Related terms
The international text the Australian standard is built from
The seven metrics that survive the Australian modifications
The requirement most often misdescribed as an Australian modification
Related questions
We are foreign-owned. Does the Australian entity report?
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Yes, if the Australian entity has its own Chapter 2M financial reporting obligation and meets a section 292A test, because it is tested on its own consolidated numbers rather than the global group’s. Foreign ownership is not a factor in section 292A. A parent’s climate report prepared overseas does not automatically discharge the Australian obligation.
Do we have to do mandatory climate reporting?
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You must prepare a sustainability report if you already lodge a financial report under Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act and you also meet one of the size, NGER or funds-under-management tests in section 292A. Both gates have to be passed: with no Chapter 2M obligation, section 292A never engages however large you are. Which of the three reporting groups you fall into decides which financial year is your first.
Where this sits commercially
Carbonhalo builds to the Australian text, so the entity does not pay for work the standard deleted.
Other terms in this cluster
AASB S2 vs IFRS S2 (Australian modifications)