To become a registered tax agent, individual applicants must:
- satisfy certain qualification and experience requirements, which are set out in the Tax Agent Services Regulations 2022 (TASR), and
- provide documentary evidence such as certificates of award, transcripts and course outlines.
Summary of qualifications and experience requirements
You may apply to register as a tax agent through one of 6 options outlined in the TASR (items 201 to 206) depending on your qualifications and experience. The following table summarises the requirements under these items, covering:
| Item | Primary qualification | Board approved courses | Relevant experience | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian taxation law | Commercial law | Basic accountancy principles | |||
201 Tertiary qualifications in accountancy | Degree or post-graduate award |
|
|
| 12 months in past 5 years |
202 Tertiary qualifications in another discipline | Degree or post-graduate award | Maybe required | Maybe required | Maybe required | 12 months in past 5 years |
203 Diploma or higher award in accountancy | Diploma or higher awarded |
|
|
| 2 years in past 5 years |
204 Tertiary qualifications in law | Academic qualifications to be an Australian legal practitioner |
|
|
| 12 months in past 5 years |
205 Work experience | Not required |
|
|
| 8 years in past 10 years |
206 Membership of a professional association | Voting member of a recognised tax agent association |
|
|
| 8 years in past 10 years |
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Requirements under the TASR items 201 to 206
Item 201 – Tertiary qualifications - accounting
- A degree or a post-graduate award in accounting from an Australian tertiary education institution (or a degree or award that is approved by the Board from an equivalent institution)
- Board approved courses in Australian taxation law
- Board approved courses in commercial law
- One year of full-time relevant experience (or part time equivalent) in the past 5 years.
Item 202 – Tertiary qualifications - specialists
- A degree or post-graduate award from an Australian tertiary education institution (or a degree or award that is approved by the Board from an equivalent institution) in an area other than accounting (the qualifications must be relevant to the tax agent services provided)
- May need to have completed a Board approved course in basic accounting principles if it is relevant to the tax agent services provided
- May need to have completed a Board approved course in Australian taxation law if it is relevant to the tax agent services provided
- May need to have completed a Board approved course in commercial law if it is relevant to the tax agent services provided
- One year full-time relevant experience (or part time equivalent) in the past 5 years.
For further information on requirements under item 202 refer TPB(I) 14/2012 Tertiary qualifications in a discipline other than accountancy for tax agents.
Item 203 - Diploma or higher award in accountancy
- A diploma or higher award in accounting from a registered training organisation or an equivalent institution
- Board approved course in Australian taxation law
- Board approved course in commercial law
- Two years of full-time relevant experience (or part time equivalent) in the past 5 years.
Item 204 - Tertiary qualifications - law
- Academic qualifications to be an Australian legal practitioner
- Board approved course in basic accounting principles
- Board approved course in Australian taxation law
- One year of full-time relevant experience (or part time equivalent) in the past 5 years.
Item 205 - Work experience
- Board approved course in basic accounting principles
- Board approved course in Australian taxation law
- Board approved course in commercial law
- Eight years of full-time relevant experience (or part time equivalent) in the past 10 years.
Item 206 - Membership of a professional association
- A voting member of a recognised tax agent association
- Eight years of full-time relevant experience (or part time equivalent) in the past 10 years.
Items 201 to 204 require a primary academic qualification in accounting, law or a relevant area other than accounting.
As a general guide, if you have a qualification:
- in accounting, you may find items 201 or 203 most suitable
- in an area other than accounting, you may find item 202 most suitable
- in law, you may find item 204 most suitable.
If you do not have one of the above academic qualifications but have at least eight years of relevant experience in the past 10 years, you may find items 205 or 206 most suitable.
To meet part of the education requirements for a tax agent registration under certain items, you must have completed Board approved courses in:
- basic accounting principles (one Board approved unit)
- Australian taxation law (two Board approved units, one of which can be at an introductory level)
- commercial law (three Board approved core units).
Your Australian taxation law course should include a component in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), including the Code of Professional Conduct (Code). Otherwise, you must have completed a separate unit covering this component.
You can check if courses and units have been approved by the Board using Qualifications check.
To find out more about the key requirements for a Board approved course in the above subject areas, refer to Board approved courses requirements for tax agents.
To learn more about the amount and types of relevant experience you must demonstrate when you apply to register visit Relevant experience for tax agents.
Conditional registration
A condition placed on your registration will limit the scope of services you can provide. This allows people with relevant experience in particular areas of taxation law to be eligible for registration (provided all other registration criteria are met).
For more information refer to Imposing conditions.
Continuing professional education
Once registered you must undertake continuing professional education (CPE) that meets our requirements to be eligible to renew your registration.
For a summary of our CPE requirements refer to Continuing professional education for tax agents.
Exception for tax agents registered pre-1988
If you were previously registered as a tax agent or as a nominee immediately before both 1 November 1988 and 1 March 2010, you are not required to satisfy the qualifications and experience requirements to register as a tax agent.
Further information
- Tax Agent Services Regulations 2022 Schedule 2, Part 2.
Last modified: 28 May 2024