Accounting for contaminated sites: how transparent are Australian companies?

This paper identifies three high profile Australian companies that are known to be in control of land that is subject to significant site contamination. Following a description of various Australian financial reporting requirements pertaining to site‐remediation obligations, the paper assesses whether the companies appear to comply with the respective reporting requirements. The results indicate that minimal or no disclosures are made by the companies in relation to various contaminated sites, even where this represents an apparent non‐compliance with statutory reporting requirements.