Apart from delivering an unexpected tax cut, the March 2025 B udget also contained surprise, but welcomed, announcements about the registration of tax practitioners. 

In August 2024, during sustained advocacy by CA ANZ and the wider profession regarding the eight new additional requirements to the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) Code of Conduct, Treasury released a 33-page consultation paper covering a very wide range of issues regarding the eligibility requirements for registration of tax practitioners. CA ANZ lodged an extensive submission on this paper, links to which can be found below.

CA ANZ is pleased that its advocacy has been successful. The robust educational standards that CA ANZ members are required to meet to gain and retain membership has resulted in the government deciding to retain the registered professional association pathways. Also pleasing is the recognition of CA ANZ’s advocacy about the need for longer timeframes in relation to the gaining of relevant experience to help attract people into the tax profession which helps to address the current serious staff shortages.

The Federal Budget also included an announcement about expanding the range of sanctions that the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) can impose. These measures will be subject to careful consultation. A separate article discusses the announcements regarding the proposed TPB sanctions.

It is very pleasing that the robust educational standards that CA ANZ members are required to meet to gain and retain membership has resulted in the government deciding to retain the registered professional association pathways.

Below is a summary of the issues relating to the registration of tax practitioners, CA ANZ’s advocacy and the government response.

Issues raised during the consultation but won’t be proceeding:

• Registered professional association pathways – the proposal was to remove this pathway, CA ANZ advocated strongly against this. The government has decided to retain this pathway. CA ANZ is pleased that members will be able to continue to rely on their professional membership to register. The government’s decision acknowledges the high educational standards of CA ANZ’s professional accounting program.
• In-house tax advisers and secondees – consideration was being given to requiring in-house tax advisers and secondees to be registered tax practitioners. CA ANZ argued against this. The government will not be requiring in-house advisers to be registered tax practitioners.
• Lawyers - consideration was being given to requiring these providers of tax services to be registered due to the potential disparity in regulatory requirements producing an unlevel playing field. The Budget announcement states that lawyers will not be captured by the registration rules, but was silent about digital service providers (DSPs). CA ANZ is currently in discussions with the Assistant Treasurer’s office regarding the status of DSPs. 
• Prescribing the ratio of individual tax agents in an entity – consideration was being given to prescribing this ratio. CA ANZ argued against this on the basis that there is a wide variety of structures, and a one size fits all approach was inappropriate. The government will not be proceeding with this announcement.
• Primary qualification settings – consideration was given as to whether they needed changing. CA ANZ argued that they were adequate, and the government has announced that it will not be allowing micro-credentials within primary qualification settings. 

Issues raised that will be proceeding:

• Longer timeframes to gain relevant experience – the proposal asked for views on this topic. CA ANZ strongly supported this proposal, and the government has announced that it will implement it. With many CA ANZ members encountering difficulty sourcing staff, this is a welcome development.
• Entities to demonstrate governance arrangements – the consultation paper proposes that entities be required to demonstrate sufficient governance arrangements regarding internal controls and quality management systems specific to the provision of tax agent and BAS services. It is intended that the new registration requirement will align with the new TPB Code requirements relating to quality management systems. CA ANZ expressed concern that duplication of requirements was confusing, but the government is proceeding on the basis that duplication does not increase compliance costs and it provides companies and partnerships with an opportunity to address gaps in their governance procedures and processes, before these risks materialise into TASA breaches and trigger potential sanctions. 
• Disclose spent convictions – it was proposed that ALL spent convictions be required to be disclosed and considered as part of the fit and proper person test. Spent convictions, that is convictions that are more than 10 years old do not generally need to be disclosed unless an offence has occurred during that period or the conviction is specifically excluded from becoming spent. The government has announced that spent convictions relevant to providing tax practitioner services will need to be disclosed so that the TPB can determine whether a person is a fit and proper person. 

Issues which were raised in the consultation paper that were not covered by the budget announcement include: 

• Requiring DSPs to register as tax practitioners. CA ANZ is currently trying to obtain clarification about why an announcement was not made regarding this significant issue with the Assistant Treasurer’s office but is having difficulty doing so due to the calling of an election and Treasury now being in caretaker mode.
• Requiring tax practitioners to have succession plans.
• Incorporating conflicts of interest into the fit and proper person test.

A number of these announcements are confirmation that the current system does not need changing.

Consultation will be conducted in relation to those announcements that do need legislative change, such as longer timeframes to gain relevant experience, demonstration of governance arrangements, and disclosure of spent convictions. CA ANZ, along with other industry associations, will be actively engaging with government, Treasury and the TPB about these changes in a united voice. To have your say about these potential changes, please email [email protected].  

The changes to tax practitioner registration are expected to take effect from 1 July 2027. However, with an election being called and the prospect of a hung Parliament in both houses of Parliament it is unclear whether this timeline will be achievable.