Regulatory tracker update - what's happened since March 2025?

Authored by Jack Wheatstone

Since the last update to our Corporate Governance Regulatory Tracker in March 2025, the Australian regulatory landscape has continued to evolve. While activity in long-running areas such as the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR), Continuous Disclosure Regime, and the proposed 5th edition of the ASX Corporate Governance Principles has slowed, significant reforms have progressed across other regimes. Of note, we have added four new categories to the Tracker—Cyber Security, Capital Markets, Operational Resilience, and Financial Reporting—to reflect the breadth of developments we are now monitoring for clients. We have started tracking updates in these areas in the latest edition of the Regulatory Tracker, as at 23 June 2025.

A summary of the changes we have updated in the tracker include:

Mandatory Climate Reporting: Tracking the slowing, but steadily continuing updates and guidance around Australia’s mandatory climate reporting regime, including:

• The release of ASIC Regulatory Guide 280 (Sustainability Reporting) on 31 March 2025, which provides the market with a practical direction on how ASIC will administer the new disclosure requirements including in relation to expectations on directors;

• The AASB’s release of an Exposure Draft proposing targeted amendments to AASB 2 for consultation between 2 April 2025 and 2 June 2025, with the changes targeted at providing additional relief for specific GHG emissions disclosures;

• The ISSB’s release of an Exposure Draft proposing targeted amendments to IFRS S2 for consultation between 28 April 2025 and 27 June 2025, with it remaining to be seen whether any amendments are likely to flow through to Australia’s domestic standards; and

• Noting that the first reports are now on the horizon for Group 1 entities, who are required to publish a Sustainability Report for the first full financial year from 1 January 2025.

  
  

Modern Slavery: Tracking the progress of law reform to Australia’s modern slavery regime, in both NSW and Australia more broadly, including:

• The Consultation Period on the Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s 2025-2028 Strategic Plan between 7 March 2025 to 11 April 2025;

• The release of the NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s Part 2 review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) on 18 March 2025; and

• The tabling by the NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner of the first of three reports in 2025, examining modern slavery risks of electric vehicles and infrastructure charging on 21 May 2025.

  
  

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing: Tracking the continued reform to Australia’s AML/CTF regime, including:

• The opening of the second consultation on the new AML/CTF Rules from 19 May 2025 and closing on 27 June 2025;

• The ‘go-live’ of the tipping off provisions in the new AML/CTF Rules on 31 March 2025;

• Updating the tracker to confirm the commencement of obligations for the amended AML/CTF or current reporting entities and virtual-asset service providers begin 31 March 2026, and tranche 2 entities on 1 July 2026; and

• Updating the tracker to reflect the current proposed timeline for finalisation of the AML/CTF rules, core guidance, and tranche 2 sector-specific guidance throughout 2025 and 2026.

  
  

Consumer Data Right: Tracking Treasury’s continued development of the Consumer Data Right, including:

• The release by Treasury of a dedicated fact sheet explaining staged obligations for the sector on 29 May 2025; and

• Updating the tracker to clarify the application of the updated CDR Rules to Tranche 1, Tranche 2, and Tranche 3 entities on 13 July 2026, the 9 November 2026, and the 10 May 2027 respectively.

  
  

Privacy and AI: Tracking the continued updates and implementation to Privacy and AI regulations in Australia, including:

• The release of the final statutory review report for the Online Safety Act 2001 on 4 February 2025, which foreshadows tighter content-moderation expectations;

• Updating to note that the statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy will be operative by 10 June 2025; and

• Following the changes made by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 as the dates for additional privacy protections draw closer, for example the automated decision-making processes, and Children’s Online Privacy Code coming into effect on 10 December 2026.

  
  

New Categories in the Regulatory Tracker

As noted in our last edition of the Regulatory tracker, we have updated the regulatory tracker for new and emerging regulations that we consider to be of particular significance moving into FY 2025-2026. These include:

• Cyber Security: Including the release of three additional cyber security rules on 4 Marc 2025, with the Cyber Security (Ransomware Reporting) Rules 2025 having commenced on 30 May 2025;

• Capital Markets: Specifically, tracking the ongoing consultation and expected subsequent updates arising out of ASIC release of its Discussion Paper ‘Australia’s evolving capital markets: A discussion paper on the dynamics between public and private markets’ on 26 February 2025;

• Operational Resilience: Specifically, tracking the regulatory updates and guidance likely to arise following APRA’s CPS 230 (Operational Risk Management) from 1 July 2025; and

• Financial Reporting: Specifically, tracking Treasury’s proposal to create a new body that combines the Australian Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and the Financial Reporting Council, the initial consultation of which occurred between 23 January 2025 and 4 February 2025.

  
  

We seek to further expand the Regulatory Tracker as we continue into the next financial year. If you have any other corporate governance regulations that you would like to see us track, feel free to contact Tim Bednall or Jack Wheatstone.

We are continuing to track changes to each of these regulations, so please continue to check the Regulatory Tracker for further updates. Please reach out to Owl Advisory by KWM or KWM if you would like to discuss navigating these regulations further.

This publication is a joint publication from King & Wood Mallesons, and KWM Compliance Pty Ltd (ACN 672 547 027) trading as Owl Advisory by KWM.   KWM Compliance Pty Ltd is a company wholly owned by the King & Wood Mallesons Australian partnership.  KWM Compliance Pty Ltd provides non-legal compliance and governance risk advisory services for businesses.  KWM Compliance Pty Ltd is not an incorporated legal practice and does not provide legal services. Laws concerning the provision of legal services do not apply to KWM Compliance Pty Ltd.