Shane Roberts and Associates Pty Ltd

Powers of the Board

The Board is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the maintenance of proper standards in the tax agent profession and is provided with various powers under Part VIIA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA36) for that purpose.

To enable it to carry out its functions, the Board is given power to require a person to furnish information, produce documents, or attend before it and give evidence, in relation to an application or any other matter before the Board.

The Board has the power to suspend or cancel the registration of a tax agent if it is satisfied that:

• the agent has prepared a return that is false in any material particular
• the agent has neglected the business of a client in income tax matters
• the agent has been guilty of misconduct as a tax agent
• the agent, or a registered nominee, is not a fit and proper person to prepare income tax returns and transact business on behalf of taxpayers in income matters, has been convicted of a serious taxation offence during the previous five years, or is not of good fame, integrity and character
• the agent, or a registered nominee, has been convicted of an offence against certain sections of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 or the Crimes Act 1914
• in the case of a partnership tax agent, any partner, or any executive officer of a company that is a partner, is not at least 18 years of age, or is not of good fame integrity and character, or
• in the case of a company tax agent, any executive officer of the company is not at least 18 years of age, or is not of good fame integrity and character.

The Board must cancel the registration of a tax agent if it is satisfied that:

• the agent becomes an undischarged bankrupt
• the agent permanently ceases to carry on business as a tax agent
• in the case of a partnership tax agent, any partner in the partnership becomes an undischarged bankrupt, or there is no partner registered as a nominee of the partnership, or
• in the case of a company tax agent, the company goes into liquidation, there is no registered nominee of the company, or, if it is a ‘non-exempt company’ (s. 251BB), the company ceases to be a company in which ‘qualified directors have a substantial interest’ (s. 251BA).

The Board may cancel the registration of an agent’s nominee if it is satisfied that the nominee is not a fit and proper person to prepare income tax returns and transact business on behalf of taxpayers in income matters.

In most instances the Board will provide an agent with the opportunity to show cause why their registration should not be suspended or cancelled prior to taking such action. This may not occur in situations where cancellation is mandatory, such as bankruptcy.

If the Board does suspend or cancel an agent’s registration, or the registration of a nominee, it will issue a notice, in writing, setting out the decision and giving reasons for the decision. If an agent is not satisfied with the Board’s decision to suspend or cancel their registration or the registration of their nominee, they may request the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to review the Board’s decision. A request for the review of a Board decision must be lodged directly with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal within 28 days of the notification of the decision.