After completing an investigation, the Board Conduct Committee (BCC) terminated the BAS agent registration of Georgia Sellick. The BCC found that Mrs Sellick was not a fit and proper person and had engaged in conduct which breached the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), including multiple items of the Code of Professional Conduct (Code). This misconduct was so serious it led to Mrs Sellick being convicted for theft where she was sentenced to a term of imprisonment and a community corrections order.

The breaches of the Code include Mrs Sellick failing to:

•  act honestly and with integrity (Code item 1) by:
  • misappropriating employer funds totalling $261,907, disguising them as payments to suppliers or Australian Taxation Office superannuation payments, and using the funds for her personal benefit
  • knowingly making a false statement to the Board in her registration renewal application by not disclosing matters affecting her good fame, integrity and character, as listed above
• comply with the tax laws in the conduct of her personal affairs (Code item 2) when she failed to notify us of a change in her circumstances within 30 days of the day the event occurred including:
  • being arrested and making full admissions to Police regarding the theft of employer funds
  • being charged and bailed for the criminal offence of theft
  • pleading guilty to the 3 charges of theft and being convicted
  • being sentenced to a term of imprisonment and a community corrections order
• account for money she had received on behalf of her employer (also her client) (Code item 3) for the misappropriation of client funds by transferring funds from her employers’ bank accounts, without their knowledge or authorisation, into accounts for her personal benefit
• maintain professional indemnity insurance.

In deciding to terminate Mrs Sellick’s registration, the BCC noted the nature and seriousness of the conduct fell well short of the appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct expected of a registered tax practitioner. The BCC concluded that it could not have any confidence that Mrs Sellick would continue to uphold the requisite standards in future if she were to remain registered. The BCC decided Mrs Sellick should be prohibited from applying for registration under the TASA for a period of 5 years from the date the termination took effect. 

In making its decision, the BCC noted the role of the TPB is to ensure consumer protection with the objective to protect and maintain the integrity of the registered BAS agent profession.