Making a complaint
What to do if you think your CA is in breach of their professional or ethical standards
We take all complaints seriously
We're committed to ensuring members meet the highest standards of professionalism and performance expected of leading accounting professionals.
It's an important part of instilling public confidence in the expertise, professionalism and integrity of Chartered Accountants and the profession.
If any member acts in a way that is unacceptable and threatens the reputation of the profession they come under our disciplinary process. Please let us know if you come across any conduct which might be of this nature. In certain circumstances, Chartered Accountants ANZ also has the ability to investigate and discipline former members (referred to as members in this information). If you have a complaint about a former member, please let us know and we will tell you if this conduct can be investigated.
Firm Events
We can also deal with certain complaints relating to Practice Entity (Firm) events. These include where the Practice Entity has been convicted of a criminal or other offence, has been found to have acted dishonestly in any binding determination by another body, has been the subject of an adverse or unfavourable binding determination, has had a condition or restriction imposed on a professional membership, registration or licence or has suffered an Insolvency Event. If you are the Principal of a Practice Entity the subject of a Firm Event, you should notify us of the Firm Event.
Tax Practitioner Breach Reporting
If you are a registered tax practitioner you are required to comply with the breach reporting obligations under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). This means that you must notify the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) if you have reasonable grounds to believe that another registered tax practitioner has committed a “significant breach” of the Code of Professional Conduct in the TASA. If the other tax practitioner is a member of a professional association accredited by the TPB and you are aware of the other practitioner’s membership then you must also notify the professional association in writing of the breach. Chartered Accountants ANZ is accredited by the TPB as a professional association and therefore Chartered Accountants ANZ must also be notified if you are aware that the breach report relates to a Member of Chartered Accountants ANZ. This information may be available on the TPB Register. For more information see the TPB website.
You should provide this report by making a complaint to the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) of Chartered Accountants ANZ by using the complaint portal.
If a breach is reported to Chartered Accountants ANZ, we will check if the same matter has been reported to the TPB. The PCC may adjourn its consideration of the complaint until following the completion by the TPB of its consideration or investigation. Otherwise, the PCC will review the complaint in its usual manner to determine if a complaint investigation should be commenced.
Because of the confidentiality of CA ANZ’s complaints process, we may not be able to share details of any investigation(s) with you.