Glossary term
Cluster B · B21
Tier 2
AUASB
Definition
The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board issues the standards governing audit and assurance in Australia, including ASSA 5000 and ASSA 5010 for sustainability assurance, and ASAE 3000 and ASAE 3410 for other assurance engagements. Through ASSA 5010 it sets the timetable on which limited assurance becomes reasonable assurance.
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
· established under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 ·
In force
On this page
In practice
The AUASB is where the assurance side of the regime is decided, and the practical content for a CFO is the two standards that govern the engagement you will be paying for.
ASSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements is the substantive standard. It sets what the assurance provider must do: obtain sufficient appropriate evidence, document the work, exercise professional scepticism, and form and express the conclusion. It is the Australian adoption of the international standard ISSA 5000.
ASSA 5010 Timeline for Audits and Reviews of Information in Sustainability Reports under the Corporations Act is the phasing standard, and paragraph 10 is the one a CFO should know:
Reporting year
What is assured, and at what level
Year 1
Review (limited assurance) over the governance disclosures, the strategy disclosures covering climate-related risks and opportunities, Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and any statement that there are no material climate-related risks or opportunities
Years 2 and 3
Review (limited assurance) over all disclosures in the sustainability report
Year 4 onwards
Audit (reasonable assurance) over all disclosures
The years are counted from each entity’s own first reporting period, not from a fixed calendar date. Counting four years from each group’s start gives reasonable assurance over the whole report from financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2028 for Group 1, 1 July 2029 for Group 2 and 1 July 2030 for Group 3.
The correction this entry exists to carry. ASSA 5000 and ASSA 5010 govern statutory sustainability assurance. ASAE 3410 and ASAE 3000 do not, despite being the standards most people name. ASAE 3410 remains relevant to voluntary and NGER-related greenhouse gas assurance, and ASAE 3000 to voluntary non-financial assurance generally, but neither satisfies the Corporations Act requirement. If an engagement letter for your statutory sustainability report cites ASAE 3410 or ASAE 3000, ask why in writing before signing.
What the assurer does with it
The AUASB standards are the assurer’s own operating rules rather than something they test you against, so their visible effect on an entity is the shape and cost of the engagement. Two consequences are worth anticipating. ASSA 5010 means the assurance scope expands in year two without anyone renegotiating it, so an entity that scoped its evidence file to year one finds targets, Scope 3 and the full strategy disclosures in scope twelve months later. And the step to reasonable assurance in year four requires internal controls over sustainability reporting to have been designed, documented and operating for the whole period, which cannot be retrofitted at the time.
Commonly confused with
The AASB. Similar acronym, adjacent role, opposite side of the transaction: AASB S2 says what to disclose, ASSA 5000 says how it is assured. Also confused with ASIC, which registers company auditors and administers the reporting obligation but does not write the assurance standards.
Timing and relief
Under ASSA 5010 the assurance level steps up by reporting year counted from each entity’s own first reporting period. Reasonable assurance over all disclosures applies from financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2028 for Group 1, 1 July 2029 for Group 2 and 1 July 2030 for Group 3.
Sources
1
2
ASSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
AUASB
3
ASSA 5010 Timeline for Audits and Reviews of Information in Sustainability Reports under the Corporations Act 2001
AUASB
4
Review status
Review required
Last reviewed
15 September 2026
Editorial pass, unsigned
Reviewer required
Registered company auditor
Next scheduled review
1 July 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 board on the disclosure side, routinely confused with this one
The board that decides who may perform the engagement
The level ASSA 5010 sets for your first three years
Related questions
What is the difference between limited and reasonable assurance?
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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 does an assurance provider actually test in year one?
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In year one they test the disclosures inside the ASSA 5010 first-year scope: Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, governance disclosures, and specified strategy paragraphs on climate risks and opportunities. The work runs in a predictable order, from understanding your reporting process and your boundary, through sampling source documents and reperforming calculations, to written representations at the end.
Other terms in this cluster
AUASB