What does the board have to sign?

The directors' declaration in the sustainability report. For financial years commencing between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2027, directors declare they have taken reasonable steps to ensure the report complies with the Corporations Act. From financial years commencing 1 January 2028, they declare their opinion that it does comply.

What is the difference between limited and reasonable assurance?

Limited assurance is expressed negatively, that nothing has come to the practitioner's attention suggesting the information is materially misstated. Reasonable assurance is expressed positively, that the information is fairly presented, and it needs far more testing and costs more. Australia starts with limited assurance and moves to reasonable over time.

What happens if the assurance provider disagrees with our numbers?

Disagreement is normally resolved before it reaches the conclusion: the practitioner raises a query, you produce more evidence or adjust the number, and the file moves on. A modified conclusion only arrives if you decline to adjust something material, or if they cannot obtain the evidence they need. The second case is far more common in a first year and is entirely preventable through documentation.

Glossary›Assurance, audit evidence and working papers›Practitioner’s report (sustainability)

Glossary term

Cluster A · A43

Tier 1 · differentiator

Practitioner's report (sustainability)

Definition

The practitioner’s report is the signed document in which the assurance provider states its conclusion on the sustainability report. Under the Corporations Act it is the auditor’s report on the sustainability report, lodged alongside the financial report and the directors’ report. It identifies what was assured, at what level, against what criteria, and on what basis.

ASSA 5000

· paragraphs 188 to 212, Corporations Act 2001 s301A ·

In force

On this page

In practice
What the assurer does with it
Commonly confused with
Timing and relief
Sources
Related terms
Related questions

Cluster

A · Assurance, audit evidence and working papers, 47 terms

In practice

The practitioner’s report is the fifth document in an annual reporting pack that used to have four: the financial report, the directors’ report, the auditor’s report on the financial report, and now the sustainability report and the auditor’s report on it.

It is a public document and it will be read by people who have never seen a sustainability assurance report before. The parts that generate questions are the scope paragraph and the criteria paragraph, because both will look unfamiliar. The scope paragraph in a year-one report lists only the disclosures ASSA 5010 puts in scope, so a reader sees the report explicitly declining to cover most of the sustainability report. That is correct and expected, and it is worth the audit committee understanding it before the document is public rather than after.

Under ASSA 5000 the report must identify the sustainability information assured, describe the level of assurance, state that the practitioner complied with relevant ethical requirements, describe the basis for the conclusion, and state the conclusion in the form appropriate to the level. Illustrative example reports sit in Appendix 3 of the standard, so the shape of your report is predictable well in advance. Ask for the draft wording early.

One Australian feature is worth knowing. For financial years commencing before 1 July 2030, ASIC’s guidance is that the auditor opines on whether the sustainability report complies with the relevant Corporations Act provisions to the extent required by the standards, and must describe any non-compliance and explain deficiencies. From 1 July 2030 the full audit opinion applies. This formulation comes from ASIC’s published guidance on the auditor’s report rather than from a subsection read at source.

What the assurer does with it

The practitioner drafts the report last and it is the only deliverable the engagement formally produces. Before signing they obtain the management representation letter, evaluate uncorrected misstatements in aggregate, and perform their subsequent events procedures up to the date of the report.

They date the report no earlier than the date they obtained sufficient appropriate evidence, and that date matters: their responsibility for subsequent events runs to it. An entity pressing for an earlier date to fit a board calendar is asking the practitioner to sign before the evidence is complete, which they will refuse.

What they reject in the surrounding document is presentation that undermines the report. If the annual report reproduces the conclusion without the scope paragraph, or places an assurance mark or tick beside figures that were not in scope, the practitioner will require it changed before signing. They read the whole document the report will sit in, not only the part they assured.

Commonly confused with

An assurance statement in a voluntary sustainability report. Those are often short, often unregulated in form, and often issued by a firm that is not a registered company auditor. A practitioner’s report under section 301A is none of those things. If you have published voluntary assurance statements before, expect this document to look substantially more legal.

Timing and relief

For financial years commencing before 1 July 2030, ASIC’s guidance is that the auditor opines on whether the sustainability report complies with the relevant Corporations Act provisions to the extent required by the standards, and must describe any non-compliance and explain deficiencies. From financial years commencing on or after 1 July 2030 the full audit opinion applies.