Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Accountability and Fairness) Act 2024 (37 of 2024)

Schedule 3   PwC response - Tax Practitioners Board reform

Part 2   Investigations by the Board

Division 2   Publishing results of investigations

Tax Agent Services Act 2009

12   Investigations that have concluded - Board may make new decision to publish findings

(1) This item applies in relation to an investigation into conduct under section 60-95 of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 if:

(a) the investigation commenced before the commencement of this Division; and

(b) before the commencement of this Division, the Board had made a finding that the conduct breached that Act; and

(c) on or after 1 July 2022, but before the commencement of this Division, the Board had made a decision, within the period under subsection 60-125(3) of that Act, that no further action would be taken; and

(d) the Board made that decision because, at the time the decision was made, the entity (the contravening entity )who engaged in the conduct had ceased to be a registered tax agent or BAS agent.

(2) The Board may, within the period of 6 months after the commencement of this Division, decide that:

(a) the contravening entity; and

(b) the information in respect of the contravening entity prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of subparagraph 60-125(2)(b)(v) of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009;

be entered on the register for the period prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of that subparagraph.

(3) If the Board makes a decision (a publication decision )under subitem (2) then, for the purposes of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 as it applies in relation to the investigation on and after the time when the publication decision is made:

(a) the publication decision is taken to have been validly made under subparagraph 60-125(2)(b)(v) of that Act (and subsections 60-125(3) and (7) of that Act are to be disregarded); and

(b) the period prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of subparagraph 60-125(2)(b)(v) of that Act is taken to be a period of 5 years starting on the day when the Board made the decision that no further action would be taken (as mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) of this item); and

(c) except for the purposes of paragraph (b) of this subitem, the Board's decision that no further action would be taken is to be disregarded.

Note: The effects of subitem (3) include that the Board must give notice of, and reasons for, the publication decision under subsection 60-125(8) of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009, and that an application may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal under section 70-10 of that Act for review of the publication decision.