Tax agents provide advice and services related to income tax laws and represent entities in their dealings with the Commissioner of taxation. In contrast, BAS agents are permitted to provide services related to BAS provisions and represent entities in their dealings with the Commissioner of taxation in relation to their BAS provisions.

A registered tax agent can provide both tax agent and BAS services if there are no conditions imposed on their registration. A BAS agent can only provide BAS services.

Find out more information on the services tax agents and BAS agents can provide.
 

No, being an Australian citizen or Australian resident is not a requirement to register as a tax practitioner. Non-residents can apply if they meet the requirements for registration. 

If you have an upcoming renewal, and you pay and submit the application by midnight 30 June 2024, you will remain registered for 3-years. Just remember, you must apply to renew your registration at least 30 days, but not more than 90 days, before it expires.

Find out more about annual registration.

We will send you a reminder email and/or an SMS at 70 days and then again at 45 days before your registration expiry date. 

You can check your registration expiry date on our Register so you know when your registration is due for renewal.  

This will depend on the pathway you have registered under. If you were granted registration under a pathway that requires you to be a voting member of a recognised professional association for example pathway 206, you either have to maintain voting membership of a recognised professional association or satisfy the qualification and experience requirements of another registration pathway.  

You will need to lodge a new application for registration for the company. Check out our website for what you need to do to apply for company tax agent or company BAS agent registration. Importantly, a company must have a sufficient number of registered individual tax agents to provide tax agent services and supervision on behalf of the entity.

This is correct. Annual registration will not apply to you until you renew in 2027.

We will assess all overseas qualifications in accounting or an equivalent discipline under the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment guidelines to determine their equivalence to an Australian award. If the overseas qualification is recognised as being equivalent to an Australian award of the appropriate Australian Qualification Framework level, the overseas qualification may be recognised as a primary qualification under the Tax Agent Services Regulations. 

For further information refer to qualifications and experience for tax agents and qualifications and experience for BAS agents.

Any relevant additional or higher qualification you undertake can count towards your CPE, but you can only count those units or subjects that are relevant to the services you provide or help you provide effective and efficient services to your clients. Generally speaking, if the CPE activity is relevant, you can claim for every hour that you are undertaking the activity. 

You may elect calendar year, financial year or registration year. 

Structured CPE includes formal activities, such as conferences, tertiary courses, webinars, and structured training. These activities generally have a clear set of learning objectives. Unstructured CPE activities include relevant technical or professional reading, self-paced audio, visual and computer aided instruction, or group discussions on technical topics.

We have a CPE log that  may help you keep track of all your CPE activities.

Records of your CPE should be kept for 5 years from the end of your CPE period. We will require confirmation of CPE completed when you renew your registration. In addition, we may request evidence or confirmation of the CPE activities that you have completed at any time during your registration period.

No, you must advise us of your PI insurance within 14 days of receiving notification of your registration and at the time of applying for renewal. 

You must also update your details whenever there is a change in your policy, including every time the policy is renewed. You can update your policy details via My Profile.

This is a complex question and will depend on a number of factors. Ultimately, you must use your professional judgement to assess how many registered individual tax practitioners your company or partnership requires to ensure tax agent or BAS services are provided competently and to ensure there are adequate supervisory arrangements in place. 

A conflict of interest arises when you have a personal interest or a duty to another person (including yourself) which is in conflict with the duty owed to your client in your capacity as a registered tax practitioner.

The Code of Professional Conduct (Code) does not prohibit you from having conflicts of interest. However, you must have adequate arrangements in place to manage any conflicts of interest that may arise relating to the activities that you undertake as a registered tax practitioner. This is item 5 of the Code.

A conflict of interest may be an actual conflict or a potential conflict, and it can arise before you accept an engagement or at any time during the engagement. You have a duty to manage both actual and potential conflicts of interest.

You should use your professional judgment to determine the most appropriate method to identify and manage a particular conflict. A number of mechanisms could be used to manage conflicts of interest.

If a registered tax practitioner no longer meets the fit and proper requirements, their registration will be terminated.