Will Sustainability Reporting finally make XBRL happen in Australia and New Zealand?

For over a decade, companies in Australia have technically had the option to file their annual reports in XBRL. But how many have done so? Exactly zero. Zilch. Not one ASX-listed company has made use of the voluntary regime. It’s fair to say that the initiative quietly failed before it even started.

Meanwhile, in the EU and UK, things look very different. Since 2020, companies with listed securities—whether domestic or foreign—have been required to publish their annual financial reports in an electronic format. In the EU, that format is called ESEF: the European Single Electronic Format. In the UK, it’s UKSEF. Both formats combine an HTML version of the annual report with inline XBRL (iXBRL) tags for machine-readability. It’s how structured data becomes easy-to-access, easy-to-analyze, and easy-to-consume for investors, regulators, and anyone else interested in a company’s numbers. In fact, some Australian and New Zealand companies with bonds or shares listed in Europe or the UK have already had to comply.

Australia's false start

Let’s rewind. The option to file in XBRL has existed in Australia since the early 2010s. Regulatory bodies like ASIC and standard setters like the AASB were involved. But despite the availability of the technology and a global move towards structured digital reporting, no traction was gained. It was, in hindsight, a classic case of “build it and… no one comes.”

Every few years, the topic resurfaced—only to fade into the background again. That changed more recently, thanks to renewed pressure from professional bodies and fresh economic analysis.

The push to mandate It

CPA Australia has made it clear: the voluntary regime has failed. It must be made mandatory if Australia wants to keep up with global trends. Chartered Accountants ANZ echoed this sentiment, stating that digital reporting—specifically XBRL—is needed to improve efficiency, transparency, and comparability.

And Deloitte took it a step further. In a 2023 report, Deloitte Access Economics estimated that mandating digital reporting could boost the Australian economy by up to $7.7 billion per year by 2030. How? Through reduced errors, increased productivity, and easier access to better-quality data. For example, businesses could save time and costs on internal reconciliations and reduce the 8,000+ errors ASIC identified in submitted reports since 2019.

The government steps In

Following pressure from industry bodies and analysis like Deloitte’s, the Australian government took a step forward, with the Treasury launching a consultation titled “Positioning Australia’s Financial Reporting System for the Future.” The consultation sought feedback on modernizing financial reporting—including the potential for mandatory digital reporting using structured formats like XBRL.

While the results of the consultation haven’t been published yet, its very existence signals a serious shift in tone. After more than a decade of inaction, the government is finally evaluating how to bring Australia in line with international best practice.

New Zealand’s perspective

Across the Tasman, New Zealand hasn’t implemented XBRL for financial reporting either. But the External Reporting Board (XRB) has signaled clear support. In a public statement, XRB endorsed mandatory digital financial reporting, recognizing the value of structured, machine-readable data in improving decision-usefulness and aligning with international best practice.

The real catalyst: Sustainability Reporting

What failed to happen through voluntary efforts or economic reasoning might finally happen now—thanks to mandatory sustainability reporting.

Australia is set to introduce mandatory climate-related and broader sustainability disclosures starting from 2025. These standards are based on the ISSB’s IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards—and those come with their own XBRL taxonomy. New Zealand, with its existing climate disclosure regime, is expected to align with these global standards too.

So the tagging groundwork is already being laid. And in Europe, companies will be required to tag their sustainability disclosures under the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) using the ESRS taxonomy from 2026/2027. The direction is clear.

More contributors, more data, more digital

As sustainability disclosures become part of the annual reporting package, the production process will get even more complex. More contributors, less time, more data, and the rise of the interactive online report (microsite) for a broader stakeholder audience—these trends all point in the same direction.

Companies will need to rethink how they build their reports. Traditional workflows using Word, Excel, InDesign—and a dash of luck—won’t cut it anymore. Especially when XBRL tagging and machine-readable output become part of the core requirements.

Better get ready

Whether prompted by regulators, accountants, or climate concerns—electronic reporting is coming. In fact, it’s already here for some. And it will impact how reports are built, reviewed, tagged, and published. For companies in Australia and New Zealand, the time to prepare is now.

Sustainability reporting may be the catalyst that XBRL always needed.