Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) | Hansard source

In continuance, let me be clear about what the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Reporting System Reform) Bill 2026 actually does. It abolishes the Financial Reporting Council, the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and replaces all three with a single new entity: External Reporting Australia. Under the current system, the Australian Accounting Standards Board sets the accounting standards, the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board sets the auditing standards and the Financial Reporting Council provides oversight. That is a deliberate structural separation. This bill removes that structural separation entirely and consolidates authority into one entity governed by a single board.

The coalition does not support reform for reform's sake. It's a mirage—this is a mirage. There has been no collapse in standards. There has been no international credibility crisis, nor has there been any demonstrated governance failure. Australia's accounting standards institutions are respected, and they are internationally aligned.