Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) has lodged a joint submission to Treasury on Exposure Draft Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Enhancing TPB Sanctions Framework (draft Bill).

The Joint Bodies have welcomed the draft Bill which is designed to implement key recommendations from the James Review to strengthen the regulatory powers of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB).

The ability to issue infringement notices, participate in enforceable undertakings, and issue interim and contingent suspensions of a tax practitioner’s registration will help ensure that the TPB has appropriate sanctions for a wider range of contraventions of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) (TASA). The reintroduction of criminal sanctions and introduction of an additional civil penalty for unregistered preparers are strongly supported. 

It is proposed that the TPB have the power to immediately suspend a tax practitioner’s registration for 90 days if there are reasonable grounds to conclude there is a serious and immediate threat to clients, or the suspension is in the public interest because of the risk to the integrity of the tax system if the tax practitioner is able to continue to practice as a registered tax practitioner (for example, the tax evasion schemes would result in a significant future loss of Commonwealth revenue). The Joint Bodies have strongly recommended changes to the proposed legislation as it currently does not reflect this intent. 

The Joint Bodies are concerned about the proposal that the TPB is not required to observe any requirements of the natural justice hearing rule when exercising its powers to suspend a tax practitioner’s registration. Absent the natural justice hearing rule, the TPB can suspend a tax practitioner without undertaking a formal investigation or giving the tax practitioner an opportunity to provide input. It also means the interim suspension at first instance is not reviewable by the Administrative Review Tribunal. The Joint Bodies recommend removing the clause which states the TPB is not required to apply natural justice. This clause is inconsistent with other regulators, such as ASIC, who are able to implement their relevant provisions effectively without a similar clause. 

The submission also highlights the need for practical support for taxpayer clients whose practitioners are suspended. 

To ensure the new regime operates fairly and proportionately, the Joint Bodies recommend the following clarifications and safeguards:

• The submission calls for the Explanatory Memorandum to provide a broad overview of how the new civil penalty provisions will be applied. For example, the matter will need to be significant enough to warrant undertaking a Federal Court proceeding and the Federal Court will take factors such as the size and structure of the tax practice, capacity to pay and the seriousness of the breach into consideration. 
• The submission also calls for the Explanatory Memorandum to outline how the various penalties will be applied. For example, that civil penalties for Code of Professional Conduct breaches will only be pursued after lower-level sanctions have been considered or applied.
• Finally, the Joint Bodies call on the TPB to publish detailed regulatory guidance to clarify how these new powers will be used in practice.