Overview
The purpose of the Australian Agriculture Sustainability Framework (AASF) is to communicate the sustainability status and goals of the Australian agricultural sector to markets and to the community.
The project will provide the whole-of-Australian agriculture narrative about sustainability to assist in market access. It will also provide a translation layer to assist supply chain companies, finance and investors to better understand and report on Australian agricultural sustainability.
Project Lead: National Farmers’ Federation (NFF)
Project Contact: National Farmers’ Federation (aasf.org.au)
Project Status: Active
Objective alignment:
- 6 – Implement sustainability frameworks and plans.
Activity alignment:
- 6.1 – Share knowledge (such as the development of benchmarks) between industries to implement industry sustainability frameworks and plans.
Project updates
Future Actions
The pilots, data ecosystem and materiality assessment will be used to inform the continuing work on strategy and operations for the AASF entity.
The next AASF update will be released in September 2025.
May 2025
Pilots
The next stage of pilots is underway. These pilots aim to engage users in multi-commodity supply chains. Options are currently being explored for pre-competitive collaboration with input suppliers, financial institutions and retailers.
International Engagement
The AASF will continue to engage in international discussions through Global Forum for Farm Policy and Innovation (GFFPI). Promisingly, the project is gaining momentum and fielding approaches for international engagement outside of our formal partnership with GFFPI. This includes:
- participation in a recent trip to Jakarta, Indonesia alongside the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
- an upcoming appearance at the Pacific Week of Agriculture and Forestry alongside the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
Operations and Governance
Work on the operations and governance of a future AASF entity is ongoing, with current work led by KPMG and Schuster Consulting Group. An advisory committee was established in 2024 after a targeted expression of interest was released via the AASF Community of Practice and NFF channels. The draft strategic plan and annual operating plan are due to be delivered in September 2025.
AASF Data Ecosystem
In March 2025, the Data ecosystem design final report: From anarchy to order was published. The report contains proposals and recommendations for the creation of structures to support AASF data ecosystem activities.
The next phase of work in this project is underway, delivering final outcomes in late 2025.
November 2024
The first double Materiality Assessment (against impact and financial significance) of AASF has been completed by Environmental Resource Management (ERM).
Key outcomes from the assessment:
- The 17 Principles are confirmed as fit for purpose.
- Recommendations from ERM will inform the strategy and operations of AASF along with some minor enhancements to the framework.
AASF guidelines and pilots led by KPMG have also made progress:
- The completion of the AASF guidelines
- 6 case studies demonstrating how AASF is being used.
These assist foundational through to advanced users to apply the framework. The first of the NFF-led pilots with Nutrien as lead partner has recently commenced. Other pilots with a bank and retailer are underway.
CSIRO has established 4 working groups from industry, researchers and government to complete the build of the data ecosystem. This will advise the department on the required:
- investment to establish the institutional arrangements
- generation of data to enable sustainability reporting at national through to farm scale.
November 2023
Implementation of Stage 2 of this project has progressed.
See more
AASF – Data ecosystem design project – final report (aasf.org.au)
Australian Agriculture Sustainability Framework (aasf.org.au)
Global Forum for Farm Policy and Innovation (farminstitute.org.au)