Tax Practitioners Board:

The Tax Practitioners’ Board is the government regulatory body for tax agents. Any person wishing to be employed or to establish a business for the provision of tax advice services to the public, must be registered with the Tax Practitioners’ Board. The Board has very strict criteria for registration given the highly sensitive nature of the profession and the fact that tax practitioners are therefore expected to conduct their affairs to the highest standard.

The Board has adopted a Code of Professional Conduct which is expected to be complied with by all registered tax agents. That Code is divided into five main sections, each of which deal with a specific area of professional activity:

• Honesty and integrity;
• Independence;
• Confidentiality;
• Competence; and
• Other responsibilities. [1]

The Board has made further publications available to help practitioners comply with provisions of the Code. These go to “passing on refunds”, “letters of engagement”, “holding money or other property on trust”, “reasonable care”, “complaints overview”, “investigations” and “sanctions”. [2] Maintaining a high level of ethical conduct is obviously of significant concern to the Board and practitioners should always be mindful of their professional duties and responsibilities under the various policies instituted by the Board. Serious consequences may follow breaches of these professional standards. Other than the disciplinary proceedings that a tax agent may be subject to under the Board, other civil penalties may also become relevant. The Board’s website states that:

Registered agents are also subject to various civil penalty provisions which impose financial penalties for certain conduct. In particular, a registered agent may contravene a civil penalty provision and be liable to a financial penalty [3]

These penalties may be associated with the making of false or misleading statement to the Commissioner of Taxation, the use of a deregistered tax agent, endorsing declarations or statement prepared by a third party under certain circumstances. [4]

Complaints may be made against a tax agent where that complaint in relation to a BAS statement or any matters relating to or incidental to the Board’s operations. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Board considers “whether the alleged behaviour may have breached a provision of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA).” [5] Complaints may be made anonymously, but the Board will be limited in what it can do in these situations. The privacy of the professional being complained about will also be maintained during the investigation process. [6] Matters going beyond the jurisdiction of the Board will not, however, be investigated, such as:

• Matters that do not relate to BAS statements;
• Matters “where [the respondent’s] fitness and propriety is not seriously called into question or there is no other relevant Code issue present.”;
• Fee and property relate matters that are not connected to the Code (disputes regarding fees and the return of property such as documents should be determined according to the general principles of contract law and property law); and
• Matters that are properly the purview of the Police. [7]

There are five major steps in the Board’s complaint process. These include the acknowledgement of the complaint, preliminary inquiries, determination as to whether the complaint falls within the jurisdiction of the Board and can be acted upon, the provision of the particulars of the complaint to the agent being complained of so that the agent has an opportunity to respond to the complaint, a determination whether or not to investigate for possible breaches of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth).

Where an individual is not satisfied with the outcome of the Complaints process, he can make representations to the Secretary of the Complaints Board or take the matter to one of the other external following bodies:

• Commonwealth Ombudsman;
• Commonwealth Privacy Commissioner; and
• Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Where a person is thinking of suing a tax agent or making a complaint against a tax agent, a taxation Board solicitor will be best placed to provide the advice necessary in preparing the case and taking it to the appropriate forum. Likewise, where a tax agent is facing a complaint or is being sued by a former client, a taxation Board lawyer will be able to provide the legal advice required to establish all defences open to the professional against whom an allegation of negligence is being made.

If you need assistance with a tax practitioners board dispute you may wish to contact our firm by telephone on (02) 9233 4048 or email us at info@navado.com.au and make an appointment to see one of our solicitors.

[1] Code of Professional Conduct TPB (EP) 01/2010.

[2] “Code of professional Conduct (Code)” Tax Practitioners Board website (modified 12 October 2013) <www.tpb.gov.au> (accessed 26 November 2013).

[3] “About Obligations” Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] “Complaints Overview” Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

This webpage (and any material or wording appearing on this webpage) is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute any Legal Advice. It does not take into account your objectives, your instructions or all of the relevant facts and/or circumstances. Navado accepts no responsibility to any person who relies on the information provided on this website. We further refer you to our Disclaimer.