The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) is a national body responsible for the registration and regulation of tax agents and BAS agents (collectively referred to as 'tax practitioners'). The TPB is also responsible for ensuring compliance with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), including the Code of Professional Conduct (Code).
This is achieved by:
administering a system to register tax practitioners, ensuring they have the necessary competence and personal attributes
providing guidelines and information on relevant matters
investigating conduct that may breach the TASA, including non-compliance with the Code, and breaches of the civil penalty provisions
imposing administrative sanctions for non-compliance with the Code
applying to the Federal Court in relation to contraventions of the civil penalty provisions in the TASA.
The TPB consists of a Board and Chair appointed by the Treasurer and staff made available by the Commissioner of Taxation.
Tax Practitioners Board organisational structure
Tax Practitioners Board
Board
The Board is responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the organisation and for delivering accountable corporate performance in accordance with the TASA and the TPB's Corporate Plan.
Board members are appointed in their professional and personal capacities and have diverse backgrounds including in tax agent services, the bookkeeping industry, financial services, law and academia.
Chair
The Chair is responsible for leadership of the Board in providing direction and oversight of the TPB, including strategy, performance, stakeholder engagement and finances.
CEO Secretary
The CEO Secretary is the head of the TPB team and manages the day to day operations of the organisation, its people and resources. The CEO Secretary implements the strategy approved by the Board. They are accountable to the Chair of the TPB.
Business lines
| Client Services | Responsible for providing support for practitioners, through assessing new registration applications, renewal applications and annual declarations, ensuring registration compliance, providing telephony and contact services, and providing registration information to tax practitioners. |
|---|---|
| Corporate Services | Responsible for providing enabling functions, including corporate planning, governance, risk management, secretariat services, people management, communications, and finance management. |
| Legal Unit | Responsible for providing legal advice to the TPB and carriage of litigation on behalf of the TPB. |
| Investigations & Enforcement | Responsible for resolving complaints and investigations including profiling and risk assessments to address any non-compliance with the TASA. |
| Policy and Legislation | Responsible for delivering the TPB’s policy and legislative work program and managing relationships with external stakeholders, including the Minister, Treasury, other government agencies and recognised professional associations. |
| Technology Team | Responsible for managing, developing and maintaining the TPB’s IT systems, driving and delivering ICT projects, and maintaining the availability of the TPB Register. |
| Data Analytics and Science | Responsible for developing analytical models and solutions using data, delivering self-service tools and ad hoc reporting solutions, and cultivating awareness on data literacy, governance and ethics. |
Annual Report and Corporate Plan
Our Annual Report details our operations and achievements in relation to the tax agent services regime.
The Corporate Plan sets out our strategic direction and reflects our purpose, goals and priorities.
Tax Practitioner Service Charter
The Tax Practitioner Service Charter (Charter) sets out what tax practitioners can expect from their dealings with the TPB. The Charter also explains their rights and responsibilities and what they can do if they are not satisfied with the service they receive from the TPB.
Tax Practitioner Governance and Standards Forum Charter
The Tax Practitioner Governance and Standards Forum is established pursuant to Recommendation 3.3 of the Final Report of the Review of the Tax Practitioners Board to ensure that any significant proposals affecting tax practitioners, such as to relevant legislation and regulations including the Code of Professional Conduct in the TASA and the creation and ongoing application of the Charter of Tax Practitioner Governance, are made with appropriate consultation.
Statement of Expectations
The Government's Statement of Expectations for the TPB outlines the expectations about the role and responsibilities of the TPB, its relationship with the Government, issues of transparency and accountability and operational matters.
A copy of the Statement of Expectations for the TPB is available from The Treasury website.
The TPB has responded with a Statement of Intent which is available from The Treasury website.
Regulator Performance Framework
The Regulator Performance Framework (RPF) commenced on 1 July 2015 as part of the Government’s commitment to reducing unnecessary and inefficient regulation.
The Framework assesses one aspect of regulatory performance, concerning the administration of regulation, with regulators to report on performance against six outcomes-based key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs cover a range of issues, including communication, risk-based and proportionate approaches, transparency, reducing regulatory burden, and continuous improvement.
For a copy of our RPF reports, visit Regulator Performance Framework reports.
Cost Recovery Implementation Statement
The Cost Recovery Implementation Statement provides information on how the TPB will implement partial cost recovery for the processing of registration and renewal applications of tax practitioners.
Last modified: 25 September 2024