Our CPE policy was due for a review, given the original requirements were established in 2012. Over a 12-month period, we conducted a comprehensive consultation process with professional associations, registered tax practitioners, the public, and other key stakeholders. The feedback that was received during the various phases of consultation helped shape the new requirements. 

The revised CPE requirements will further enhance the standards of the tax profession and increase consumer protection, which is the key objective of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009. The updated policy also recognises that the scope and nature of services provided by tax and BAS agents has evolved over these years, with businesses operating in an increasingly complex environment and tax laws changing to adapt to the changing environment. CPE plays a vital role in assisting tax and BAS agents to keep up their knowledge and skills, and adapt as the law, society and client needs change. 

Some of the key changes in the revised policy include the following:

• Tax agents should complete a minimum of 120 hours of CPE over a 3-year period – an increase from 90 hours over a 3-year period.
• BAS agents should complete a minimum of 90 hours of CPE over a 3-year period – an increase from 45 hours over a 3-year period.
• Both tax and BAS agents should complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPE each year. This has been increased from 10 hours per year for tax agents and 5 hours per year for BAS agents.
• If you are a member of a recognised professional association, you can align your CPE period with the CPE period of your professional association. This means that you can elect to have your CPE period based on a financial year, calendar year or the anniversary of your association membership start date, thus providing you with greater flexibility.
• Up to 10% of your CPE can be educative health and well-being activities. This may include activities such as attending webinars about how to manage stress and self-care. This is in recognition of the importance of the health and wellbeing of tax practitioners.
• The CPE record-keeping requirement has been reduced from 6 to 5 years.
• Inclusion of family and/or caring commitments (such as maternity or paternity leave) as exceptional circumstances for not being able to complete the minimum CPE hours.

There has been a significant growth in the BAS agent population since the TPB was established. There has also been a significant expansion in the range of services that BAS agents can lawfully provide. 

The increasing demand and reliance placed on BAS agents to assist businesses in complying with their tax obligations speaks of the recognition and professional standing of BAS agents within the tax profession and the broader community. 

The increased demand for BAS services and the expansion of BAS services has led to an increase in the range and maturity of CPE activities that have become available to BAS agents. 

The increase in CPE hours reflects these changes that have occurred in the industry and will enable BAS agents to bridge any gap in skills and competency to better serve their client needs.

Yes, you can make a new election at the end of your current CPE period to align it to your new recognised professional association’s period.

No, there’s no provision on the renewal application to elect a CPE period. It is sufficient if you keep a record of your elected CPE period along with the records you maintain for your CPE activities.

We have allowed flexibility in our policy by spreading the CPE hours you need to complete over a 3-year period. Even if you work part-time you need to maintain your knowledge and skills to be able to provide competent services to your clients. So you are still required to complete a minimum of 90 hours of CPE over a 3-year period.

However, if you work part-time due to some extenuating circumstances, you can request some relief from the minimum level of CPE. Even under these circumstances you must show that you have attempted to use the flexibility of the CPE period to complete the minimum CPE hours required. 

We acknowledge that there may be some exceptional circumstances, such as having caring responsibilities, when you may not be able to complete the minimum hours of CPE. In these extenuating circumstances, you can apply to us for relief from the minimum level of CPE. In your request you should explain the attempts you have made to use the flexibility of the CPE period to manage these exceptional circumstances. 

No, you should complete 6 hours of CPE over your CPE period, with a minimum of 2 hours per year.

You must submit evidence of CPE completed when we request you to do so. This may occur anytime during your registration period or at the time of your registration renewal.

You should make a record of the CPE activities you complete as soon as possible and practicable after you complete the activity. You should include sufficient details about the activities and the hours completed. Where the CPE activity is unstructured, (for example, technical or professional reading, video or audio materials or group discussions on technical topics), you should record sufficient details to show the relevance of the activity to the tax agent or BAS services you provide. 

For structured activities, evidence can include email confirmation for training, webinars or courses attended. You can use our CPE log or that of your professional association to record details. You must keep your CPE records for 5 years from the end of the relevant CPE period. 

You should complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPE each year. In the other 2 years, you should make sure you complete sufficient hours to meet the total CPE hours requirement over a 3-year period.

Health and wellbeing CPE activities could include attending webinars about managing your mental health, stress and self-care. These activities can also include training and webinars you attend to support the mental health and wellbeing of your staff.

If you do not complete the minimum level of CPE hours required and you do not have any extenuating circumstances that have affected your ability to meet the minimum requirements, you may be in breach of the Code of Professional Conduct. We may impose sanctions for the breach.

As CPE is also a registration renewal requirement, failing to complete the minimum level of CPE hours required will also risk your registration as a tax practitioner.

No, there are no mandatory topics but the topics you choose must be relevant to the tax agent or BAS services that you provide or help you to manage your practice so you can provide competent services to your clients. 

Undertaking CPE on topics such as practice management, ethics, digital literacy and cyber security would all count towards your CPE as these would help manage your practice efficiently and effectively. Additionally, we have included health and wellbeing educational activities in our policy as relevant CPE to a maximum of 10% of your total CPE hours.

There are a range of activities you can undertake such as attending webinars, seminars, podcasts, courses including computer or internet-assisted courses, professional or technical reading. For more examples, refer to ‘CPE activities’ in our explanatory paper.