Climate change featured heavily during the election and now the Albanese Government is putting into place some of the promises it made. We look at the current state of play and the likely impact.
The Government’s Climate Change Bill passed the House of Representatives in early August and is now before the
Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee for review. But what impact does the legislation have on business and
consumers in Australia?
Under the Paris
Agreement,
a legally binding international treaty, Australia and 192 other parties committed to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas
emissions to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius while pursuing efforts to limit the increase
even further to 1.5 degrees. At this level, the more extreme impacts of climate change - floods, heatwaves, rising sea levels, threats
to food production - can be arrested. As part of this commitment, the parties are required to communicate their emissions reduction
ambitions through a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). On 16 June 2022, Australia communicated its updated NDC to the UN,
confirming Australia’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and a new, increased target of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 (a
15% increase on the previous target). The Climate Change Bill enshrines these emission targets into legislation.
The Bill itself sets an accountability framework for climate targets but does not introduce mechanisms to cut emissions.
Impacted industries
The energy sector is at the heart of climate change producing around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions. In Australia, the CSIRO says energy contributes approximately 33.6% of all emissions, with a further 20.54% from stationary energy (from manufacturing, mining, residential and commercial fuel use), transport 17.6%, and agriculture 14.6%. The future of the energy industry is also at the crux of the Government Powering Australia policy.
Lunch & Learn Workshop // 4 September, 2026 - 12:00 - 1:30pm
$35pp includes lunch
Many business owners believe growth comes from more sales. But in reality, the strongest and most profitable
businesses grow by improving how the business works, not just by selling more. This session is designed to change that. The
5-Critical Financial Metrics
is a practical workshop that shows you where small, targeted changes can create disproportionately big improvements in profit, cashflow and
sustainability.
Lunch & Learn Workshop // 26 June, 2026 - 12:00 - 1:30pm
$35pp includes lunch
This session is designed to change that. Pricing, Profit &
Your Ideal Client
is a practical workshop that helps you understand where your
profit really comes from,
how pricing decisions affect margins, and why working with clients that align with your business makes a measurable difference to both
profit and cashflow.
AI-Enhanced Automation for Accounting and Finance Professionals: Leveraging RPA, VBA, ChatGPT, and Copilot for Innovation and
Productivity.
Join SkyBots’ 2-day Workshop in MELBOURNE with automation expert Daryl Aw to revolutionise your workflow using Power
Automate, UiPath, VBA,
and cutting-edge
Agentic AI. Tailored for accounting and finance professionals, bookkeepers and small business owners,
this hands-on training will teach you to automate repetitive tasks, generate and optimise VBA scripts, and deploy robust automation
solutions independently.
On 31 March, the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year ends. With the ever increasing budget deficits, the ATO will be reviewing whether all employers who should be paying FBT are, and that they are paying the right amount. Who needs to lodge a FBT return? Find out here.
If you’re a director of a small business, Payday Super isn’t just an HR or payroll issue. It’s a governance issue that could directly affect your personal legal exposure.
