Glossary›Regulation, capture and thresholds / Regulation, capture and timing›AASB S2 effective date
Glossary term
Cluster B · B26
Tier 1 · differentiator
AASB S2 effective date
Definition
AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures applies to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025. That is the standard’s own effective date. Which entities actually apply it, and from when, is set by the Corporations Act group phasing: Group 1 from 1 January 2025, Group 2 from 1 July 2026, Group 3 from 1 July 2027.
AASB S2 (September 2024)
· Appendix C effective date ·
In force
On this page
In practice
Two dates are being conflated across this market and the distinction is the whole content of this entry.
The standard’s effective date is a single date: annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025. It never changes by entity.
The entity’s first reporting period is set by the Corporations Act, by group. Group 1 applies AASB S2 to financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2025. Group 2 from 1 July 2026. Group 3 from 1 July 2027.
The reason both dates exist is that AASB S2 is a standard and section 292A is a capture rule. The standard was made effective once; the obligation to use it was phased. A Group 3 entity is not applying a later version of AASB S2 in 2027-28. It is applying the same standard, for the first time, because that is when its obligation starts.
The three worked cases, all for a 30 June balance date:
Group
First financial year AASB S2 applies
Period covered
Group 1
FY commencing 1 July 2025
1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026
Group 2
FY commencing 1 July 2026
1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027
Group 3
FY commencing 1 July 2027
1 July 2027 to 30 June 2028
A Group 1 entity with a 31 December balance date has an earlier first period, commencing 1 January 2025, which is why the calendar-balancing Group 1 cohort reported first.
Early application is permitted for an entity that wants to apply AASB S2 before its group date, and an entity below every threshold may apply it voluntarily. Neither is common outside groups with a listed or overseas parent already reporting.
There is a further date on the horizon. AASB S2025-1 Amendments to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosures was issued in December 2025. Paragraph C1A lists what it changed: paragraphs 29(a)(ii), 29(a)(vi)(2), B21-B22, B24, B28, B37, B59, B62(a), B63(a) and C4(b), with paragraphs 29A-29C, B62A, B63A, C1B and C6 added and AusB63.1 deleted. Paragraph C1B sets the effective date: annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with early application permitted if disclosed.
For a Group 2 or Group 3 first-time reporter the practical answer is that it changes little. The amendments concentrate on greenhouse gas measurement mechanics and on the financed-emissions provisions that apply to entities participating in asset management, commercial banking or insurance. A private operating business reporting Scope 1, Scope 2 and a screened Scope 3 will not find its obligations materially altered. The one thing to get right is which version of the standard the basis of preparation names, because a Group 2 entity whose first period begins 1 July 2026 reports under the pre-amendment text and then moves onto the amended text the following year.
What the assurer does with it
The date determines the assurance level, so the assurer establishes it first. Under ASSA 5010 the assurance scope is set by which reporting year the entity is in, counted from its own first reporting period: year one carries limited assurance over a defined subset, years two and three limited assurance over the whole report, year four reasonable assurance over the whole report. Getting the first period wrong therefore mis-scopes the engagement in both directions. They ask for the entity’s group determination and the section 292A threshold calculation supporting it. They reject a first-period date derived from the standard’s effective date rather than the entity’s group date, which is the error this term exists to prevent.
Commonly confused with
The lodgement deadline, which falls three or four months after the reporting period ends, not at its start. Also confused with the AASB S1 position: AASB S1 was issued but is voluntary in Australia, so a captured entity complies with AASB S2 only unless it chooses otherwise.
Timing and relief
AASB S2 Appendix C carries first-year reliefs that apply in an entity’s first annual reporting period applying the standard, not in a fixed calendar year. Each entity gets them in its own first year. Paragraph C3 removes the comparative information requirement, paragraph C4(a) permits continued use of a non-GHG Protocol measurement method used in the immediately preceding period, and paragraph C4(b) permits omission of Scope 3. Paragraph C5 then lets an entity that took the C4(a) or C4(b) relief keep relying on it when presenting that information as comparatives in later periods, so the reliefs taper rather than expire. AASB S2025-1 applies to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
Sources
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ASSA 5010 Timeline for Audits and Reviews of Information in Sustainability Reports under the Corporations Act 2001
AUASB
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 B, Regulation, capture and thresholds / Regulation, capture and timing
26 terms on who has to report, when their first report is due, and what the regime is built on.
Related terms
The other date this one is confused with
How to count which reporting year you are in
The board that issued the standard and its amendments
Related questions
Our financial year ends 30 June. What is our first reporting period?
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Your first reporting period is the first financial year that begins on or after your group’s start date, so the test applies to the start of the year and not its end. With a 30 June balance date that is the year ending 30 June 2026 for Group 1, 30 June 2027 for Group 2 and 30 June 2028 for Group 3.
Do we have to report Scope 3 in year one?
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No. AASB S2 gives first-time reporters relief from disclosing Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions in their first annual reporting period, and Scope 3 is required from the second year. Taking the relief in year one is normal, but the supplier data work needs to start in year one anyway.
Do we need comparatives in our first report?
+
No. AASB S2 relieves first-time reporters from disclosing comparative information in their first annual reporting period, and comparatives are required from year two. That means your year-one numbers and working papers will be looked at again, so build the year-one file as if it will be re-examined.
Other terms in this cluster
AASB S2 effective date