Tax Practitioners Board public register

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) is a national body responsible for the registration and regulation of tax agents and BAS agents. The TPB maintain a register that contains details of registered tax and BAS agents, as well as certain unregistered entities and individuals. It also includes any breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct and sanctions imposed that are on the public record.

The register records if a firm or registered tax practitioner has had any of the following events occur within the last 5 years:

  • Suspension or termination of your registration
  • You were an undischarged bankrupt or went into external administration
  • You were convicted of a serious taxation offence
  • You were convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty
  • You were sentenced or were serving a term of imprisonment in Australia for 6 months or more
  • You were penalised/subject to an injunction/subject to an order for breaching a voluntary undertaking under the tax promoter penalty provisions
  • Federal Court has ordered you to pay a pecuniary penalty for contravening a civil penalty provision under TASA.

An agent must advise a client if their registration is subject to conditions. Tax practitioners must notify clients when a client inquires about engaging or re-engaging the agent to provide tax services. Otherwise, the agent must notify current clients within 30 days of becoming aware of the matter

Events affecting AFS tax agents

AFS or its registered tax practitioners has had none of these events/matters occur, nor are any of our registrations as a tax agents subject to any conditions.

You can access the register here: https://www.tpb.gov.au/public-register

Code of Conduct

AFS adheres to TPB’s Code of Professional Conduct (Code), our registered agents are required to comply with the taxation laws in the conduct of client’s personal affairs.

The Code sets out principles under five separate categories:

  • Act honestly and with integrity.
  • Uphold and promote the ethical standards of the tax profession.
  • Act lawfully in a client’s best interests.
  • Manage any conflicts of interest.
  • Take reasonable care to ascertain a client’s state of affairs and apply tax laws correctly.
  • Keep a client’s information confidential unless there is a legal duty to disclose.
  • Provide services competently.

The full Code of Conduct can be found here: https://www.tpb.gov.au/code-professional-conduct

Rights, responsibilities and obligations

Tax practitioner’s obligations

In addition to the code of conduct, tax practitioners are obligated to:

  • Not knowingly obstruct the administration of the tax laws.
  • Advise you of your rights and obligations under the tax laws.
  • Account to you for money or other property on trust.
  • Not make false or misleading statements to the TPB or ATO, and in some cases withdraw their engagement with you and notify the TPB or ATO of certain matters.
  • Keep proper records.
  • Keep you informed of certain matters so you can make informed decisions (see Factsheet page 2).
  • Address any false or misleading statements they are responsible for.
  • Engage with clients to address other false or misleading statements, exploring options to correct.

Client’s obligations

  • Be truthful with the information you provide your tax practitioner.
  • Keep the required records and provide them to your tax practitioner on a timely basis, as required.
  • Be co-operative with your tax practitioner’s requests, and meet their due dates.
  • Comply with the tax laws.

See the Clients Factsheet for more information: https://www.tpb.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-12/Factsheet_Information%20for%20clients.pdf

Complaints

Please provide details of your complaint and experience.

Any complaints can be made directly to AFS by emailing: feedback@afsbendigo.com.au

Before lodging a complaint with TPB about a tax practitioner, individuals are encouraged to first attempt to resolve any issues directly with the practitioner, wherever possible. It is advisable to do this in writing to maintain a record for reference. If the issue cannot be resolved with the tax practitioner, a complaint may be submitted to TPB. When lodging a complaint, individuals will be asked to provide details of any steps already taken to address the issue.

You can log a complaint via the TPB online complaints form here: https://myprofile.tpb.gov.au/complaints/

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