Trans-Tasman alignment strengthens as Australia and New Zealand advance interoperable sustainable finance frameworks
Australia and New Zealand have signalled a renewed commitment to regional cooperation on sustainable finance, following a joint statement from Ministers Chris Bowen and Simon Watts confirming plans to deepen alignment between the two countries’ frameworks.
The announcement reinforces a clear direction of travel across the Single Economic Market: interoperability is becoming foundational to how sustainable finance standards are built, implemented and assessed.
Why this matters for Australia’s financial system
As financial institutions prepare for taxonomy use, transition planning, and evolving disclosure obligations, cross-border consistency is emerging as a major enabler of market confidence.
Alignment with New Zealand, one of Australia’s most interconnected trading and investment partners, reduces friction for institutions operating in both jurisdictions and supports more credible capital allocation across the region.
New Zealand’s decision to expand its taxonomy to the energy and construction sectors provides an opportunity to increase technical consistency and accelerate shared learning on sector pathways. For Australian institutions engaged in ASFI’s market-use pilots, this means the insights generated through implementation will have wider relevance across the Tasman.
ASFI and CSF deepen collaboration
ASFI CEO Kristy Graham said aligning frameworks at this stage of development is critical for ensuring both systems remain usable and investment-relevant.
“The commitment from both governments to continue to pursue comparable and interoperable taxonomies will be critical as markets move from design into implementation. Aligning our frameworks gives investors greater clarity and confidence and reduces friction for cross-border investment. We welcome the expansion of New Zealand’s taxonomy and will continue working with the Centre for Sustainable Finance to share insights from market implementation with major financial institutions across both countries.”
New Zealand’s Centre for Sustainable Finance CEO Jo Kelly also emphasised the value of shared learning as New Zealand moves into its own piloting and implementation phase.
“We are pleased to see Ministers’ recognition of the importance of alignment on sustainable finance frameworks. We are continuing and deepening our work with the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute to learn from their market use pilots as we move into the piloting and implementation phase of the NZ Taxonomy.”