Australia policy

Australia’s financial sector is increasingly attuned to the urgent sustainability risks threatening the strength and stability of the country’s economy. To keep pace with industry expectations and global developments, Australian policy and regulatory frameworks will need to evolve to meet these challenges.

Comprehensive consideration of systemic sustainability risks will require strengthened corporate disclosure requirements, clarifications of investor fiduciary duties, and better frameworks for effective stewardship. See further details below of PRI’s work supporting stronger sustainable finance policy in Australia.

Key publications

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Australia: Integrating sustainability goals across the investment industry

Five policy and regulatory reforms could help investors pursue environmental and social goals, and two further measures should also be considered.

A Legal Framework for Impact AUS: Can Investors Pursue Sustainability Outcomes?

2021-11-24T16:20:00+00:00

Hosted by the PRI, the webinar will present the key findings from the Australian annex of the report “A Legal Framework for Impact”, which was authored by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and commissioned by The Generation Foundation, PRI, and UNEP FI.

Latest Consultations

Implementing ISSB’s standards in Australia

The PRI supports the SEC’s proposed rule and its efforts to ensure that funds’ names reflect their investments in the fund and address materially misleading or deceptive fund names. The PRI recommends that the SEC Define the term "characteristics" and clarify the expectations for funds on how to determine an investment focus with such characteristics.

See response

Addressing system-level risks in investment governance standards

The PRI recommends that SPS 530 should better reflect RSE licensee’s obligations to consider and mitigate material market-wide risks, particularly where sources of those risks stem from ESG-related issues. Additionally, the PRI recommends that explicit guidance be provided to RSE licensees in either SPS or SPG 530 on how they should consider and mitigate ESG-related risks at both the idiosyncratic and market-wide levels.

See response

Response to APRA’s guidance on climate change financial risk

PRI recommended that APRA clarifies and strengthens the guidance on how climate change risks should be considered in investment governance frameworks and management of investments, and proposes a mechanism for transition to mandatory disclosure requirements.

See response

Further resources

  • Policy-briefings

    Policy reports

    Search our policy briefings

  • Key policy developments of 2020

    Consultations and letters

    Search our policy consultations and letters

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    A Legal Framework for Impact

    It is crucial that assessing and accounting for sustainability impact becomes a core part of investment activity. That’s why PRI, UNEP FI and The Generation Foundation are leading our work programme “A Legal Framework for Impact.”