ASIC financial reporting relief instruments: updates and consolidation

Updated legislative instruments

ASIC legislative instruments are legally binding rules made by ASIC under powers granted by legislation. They can modify how certain provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 operate or provide exemptions and relief from specific requirements.

Consolidated reporting and auditing relief instruments

ASIC has consolidated 17 existing financial and sustainability reporting and auditing relief into two new legislative instruments. The new legislative instruments replace the 17 existing financial and sustainability reporting and auditing relief instruments, simplifying the regulatory framework, making the available relief easier to access and apply. The relief provided is largely unchanged.

The new instruments are ASIC Corporations (Annual and Half-year Reporting) Instrument 2026/468 and ASIC Corporations (Auditing) Instrument 2026/469.

Wholly-owned companies relief instrument

ASIC remade the financial reporting relief for eligible wholly-owned companies. The previous instrument ASIC Instrument 2016/785was due to sunset on 1 October 2026 and was remade to preserve the existing relief. The remade instrument ASIC Corporation (Wholly-owned Companies) Instrument 2026/533does not change the underlying relief or eligibility conditions.

As part of the remake ASIC has updated the instrument to reflect the new presentation and disclosure standard, AASB 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements. Refer below for further detail.

What has changed?

The changes are primarily administrative:

• The new consolidated instruments bring existing reporting and auditing relief together in a streamlined framework making the relief easier to identify and apply.
• The remade wholly-owned companies instrument preserves the existing relief while ASIC progresses its broader reforms to group reporting requirements. It also reflects AASB 18 with respect to the required financial statement disclosures. AASB 18  replaces AASB 101 Presentation of Financial Statements as the primary standard governing the presentation and disclosure of financial statements for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with earlier application permitted.

Want more detail? The full ASIC media releases can be accessed on the ASIC website. 

• ASIC issues consolidated reporting and auditing relief instruments
• ASIC remakes wholly-owned companies relief instrument

The ASIC Corporations (Annual and Half-year Reporting) Instrument 2026/468consolidates 14 existing relief instruments covering annual and half-year reporting requirements for a range of entities under theCorporations Act 2001, including companies, registered schemes, registrable superannuation entities, retail collective investment vehicles (CCIVs) and disclosing entities.

• The relief itself is largely unchanged.
• Previous instruments have been repealed. Entities relying on the relief should update references in their financial reports to the new instrument taking into account the applicable transitional provisions.
• Duplicative relief that overlapped between the 2023 and 2025 stapled entity instruments has been removed.

Which 14 existing reporting instruments are combined into the single instrument?

The following 14 existing reporting instruments are combined into the single instrument:

• ASIC Corporations (Reporting by Stapled Entities) Instrument 2023/673(2023 stapled entity instrument) — Enables stapled entities to present combined or consolidated financial statements and climate-related financial disclosures for the stapled group.  It also allows the stapled entities to present their respective financial statements together in a single financial report.
• ASIC Corporations (Parent Entity Financial Statements) Instrument 2021/195 — Allows an entity that presents consolidated financial statements to also include its parent entity financial statements in its consolidated financial reports.
• ASIC Corporations (Financial Reporting: Natural Person Licensees) Instrument 2017/307 — Permits a financial services licensee who is a natural person to exclude any revenue and expenses that do not relate to a financial services business carried on by the licensee from the profit and loss statement. 
• ASIC Corporations (Foreign-Controlled Company Reports) Instrument 2017/204 — Relieves small foreign controlled proprietary companies from the requirement to prepare financial reports if they are not part of a large group.
• ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2026/183 — Permits eligible entities to round amounts in financial statements and directors’ reports.
• ASIC Corporations (Disclosing Entities) Instrument 2016/190 —  Provides relief for entities that cease to be a disclosing entity before its deadline to lodge a financial report; and for disclosing entities from preparing their first half-year report where their first financial year is eight months or less.
• ASIC Corporations (Synchronisation of Financial Years) Instrument 2016/189 — Allows a foreign controlled company to have a financial year of up to eighteen months in order to synchronise its financial year with that of its foreign parent.
• ASIC Corporations (Directors’ Report Relief) Instrument 2016/188 — Permits information required for the directors’ report to be located elsewhere subject to specified conditions.
• ASIC Corporations (Electronic Lodgment of Financial and Sustainability Reports) Instrument 2026/59 — Allows entities listed on certain exchanges to lodge sustainability reports electronically with the relevant market operator without lodging separate reports with ASIC.
• ASIC Corporations (Disregarding Technical Relief) Instrument 2026/180 — Allows entities to disregard specified technical relief when assessing eligibility for certain disclosure concessions under fundraising and financial product disclosure requirements.
• ASIC Corporations (Post Balance Date Reporting) Instrument 2025/437 — Allows an entity to include a pro forma balance sheet in the notes to explain the financial effect of material acquisitions or disposals occurring after the reporting date.
• ASIC Corporations (Non-Reporting Entities) Instrument 2025/436 — Allows non-reporting entities to apply recognition and measurement concessions and transitional provisions available to reporting entities when preparing financial statements.
• ASIC Corporations (Related Scheme Reports) Instrument 2025/438 — Allows related registered schemes to present their financial reports or concise reports, directors’ reports and where applicable sustainability reports together in a single report.
• ASIC Corporations (Stapled Group Reports) Instrument 2025/439(2025 stapled entity instrument) — Enables financial statements for stapled groups to be presented in a single financial report.

The ASIC Corporations (Auditing) Instrument 2026/469consolidates 3 existing instruments covering auditor independence declarations, auditor arrangements for retail CCIVs and audit relief for eligible proprietary companies. The relief remains largely unchanged.

Which 3 existing auditing instruments are combined into the single instrument?

The following 3 existing auditing instruments are combined into the single instrument:

• ASIC Corporations (CCIV Auditors) Instrument 2024/668 —Requires the corporate director of a retail CCIV to notify ASIC of the appointment of an auditor within 14 days.
• ASIC Corporations (Auditor Independence) Instrument 2021/75 —Relieves a lead auditor from disclosing certain minor financial interests held subject to conditions.
• ASIC Corporations (Audit Relief) Instrument 2016/784 —Relieves eligible companies from the requirement to have their financial reports audited subject to specified conditions.

ASIC Corporations (Wholly-owned Companies) Instrument 2026/533 continues the existing financial reporting relief available to eligible wholly-owned companies under the Corporations Act 2001.

The instrument relieves wholly-owned entities from their financial reporting obligations provided they meet relevant eligibility requirements including being party to a deed of cross guarantee with its holding company and other group entities, and where the holding company lodges consolidated financial statements for the group.

The new instrument does not change the underlying relief. It preserves the existing arrangements while ASIC progresses broader reforms to group reporting requirements.

Frequently asked questions

• The new consolidated instruments form part of ASIC’s broader regulatory simplification program. As part of its regulatory simplification initiative, ASIC has adopted drafting principles that improve readability and usability including the use of plain English, clearer structure and the grouping of related relief provisions by topic. While the consolidation does not introduce substantive policy changes, it enhances clarity, consistency and ease of navigation for stakeholders. ASIC has also indicated that related forms and regulatory guidance will be updated to reflect the changes.
• The remade wholly-owned companies instrument preserves the existing relief that was due to sunset while ASIC progresses its broader reforms to group reporting requirements. It also reflects AASB 18 with respect to the required financial statement disclosures.  AASB 18 replaces AASB 101 as the primary presentation and disclosure standard from 1 January 2027, with earlier application permitted.

ASIC Corporations (Annual and Half-year Reporting) Instrument 2026/468 & ASIC Corporations (Auditing) Instrument 2026/469

The previous instruments have been repealed and replaced by the new instruments. The instruments commenced on 18 September 2026 subject to applicable transitional provisions.

In particular: Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports

Reports applying rounding relief must state that the entity is eligible and that amounts have been rounded under the applicable instrument.

The applicable instrument depends on the reporting period end:

• For financial years and half-years ending on or before 31 December 2026, apply ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2026/183.
• For financial years and half-years ending on or after 1 January 2027, apply the rounding relief in ASIC Corporations (Annual and Half-year Reporting) Instrument 2026/468.

Entities should also monitor ASIC updates to related forms and regulatory guidance.

ASIC Corporations (Wholly-owned Companies) Instrument 2026/533

• For financial years ending on or before 31 December 2026 subject to procedural transitional provisions, apply the relief in ASIC Corporations (Wholly-owned Companies) Instrument 2016/785
• For financial years ending on or after 1 January 2027, apply the relief in ASIC Corporations (Wholly-owned Companies) Instrument 2026/533

• Entities applying relief should ensure they meet the applicable conditions
• When applying ASIC relief, entities should ensure financial statements and reports reference the correct legislative instrument for the relevant reporting period
• Any governing documentation should be updated to reference the new instrument

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