Subject description

Tax equips you with the core knowledge and skills to provide tax services for a range of transactions and events. You’ll learn how to respond to tax impacts and to identify when more complex issues are present and require you to seek advice from a tax specialist. Throughout the subject, you’ll apply your learning through activities and assessments designed to develop your ability to apply these technical skills and communicate tax information effectively to a range of stakeholders. This subject is a prerequisite for the Advanced Tax elective subject, which provides the opportunity to further develop your knowledge and skills if you wish to pursue a specialisation in tax. 

Topics covered

Tax Australia

• Tax fundamentals
• Income tax
• Capital transactions and expenditure
• Tax administration and compliance
• Taxation of entity structures
• International tax fundamentals
• Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Employment taxation and interaction between taxes

Tax New Zealand

• Tax ethics, governance and administration
• Income tax fundamentals
• Property and assets
• Taxation of structures
• Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Introduction to international taxation
• Employment remuneration and fringe benefit tax
• Tax avoidance, penalties and disputes

Subject learning outcomes

On completion of this subject, you will be able to:

1. Apply technical knowledge to a range of transactions and events to determine the tax consequences
2. Advise on the taxation consequences of a range of transactions and events
3. Apply an ethical and socially responsible approach to determining taxation consequences
4. Evaluate future changes that impact the taxation environment.

Course structure and format

This 9-week course is one of seven core subjects of the Chartered Accountants Program.

Enjoy supported learning via an online learning platform and interactive resources, featuring:

• Online communities for networking with peers
• Technical discussion forums with specialist Chartered Accountants
• Peer discussion forums
• Comprehensive study materials and assessment preparation resources
• Real-world case studies, examples and activities
• Virtual sessions and recordings with real-world worked examples and activities based on integrated, complex scenarios.

Australian and New Zealand differences 

• We offer two separate subjects for Australian and New Zealand tax.
• You can choose to enrol in either, irrespective of where you live. Candidates generally enrol in the tax subject most relevant to the location where they work.
• Both subjects meet the regulatory requirements for the Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting.
• There are no additional requirements for bridging subjects if you already have an accredited degree from the neighbouring country.
• You are responsible for ensuring you have the necessary assumed knowledge relevant to the tax subject selected.

Please note: The course information shown here is indicative only. For each term, the official subject outline, including reading materials, assessment requirements, and other key details, will be provided to enrolled students through the My Capability Learn portal. The official subject outline may contain updates or changes to the information displayed here and serves as the authoritative reference for all course matters.