The July 2027 reporting threshold is the one that reaches further into the supply chain

Australia's mandatory sustainability reporting legislation has been rolling out since January 2025, and most of the conversation has been about the big end of town. The first year captured businesses with over 500 employees, $1 billion or more in consolidated gross assets, or $500 million or more in consolidated annual revenue. FY26 dropped the threshold, and FY27 drops it again: over 100 employees, $25 million or more in gross assets, $50 million or more in annual revenue.

That's the threshold that starts pulling in a meaningful chunk of the mid-sized processors and larger feedlots that sit in the middle of Australian agricultural supply chains. These businesses will need to lodge annual Sustainability Reports with ASIC under the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards, covering Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions alongside climate-related financial risks and governance processes.

Scope 3 is the number that connects back to farms. For a processor or feedlot, it includes the emissions in the livestock and agricultural inputs they're sourcing. Getting a credible number on that requires data from producers. Which means the pressure, when it comes, works its way down the chain.

For producers, none of this is your reporting obligation. But the businesses you sell to are increasingly being asked to account for what's happening on your property, and the ones asking that question first are usually the ones whose own deadline is closest.

The producers who have their numbers ready when that question comes are in a different conversation to those who don't. It's not a dramatic difference right now, but it's a real one, and it compounds over time as the data builds up.