Changes to the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) Code of Professional Conduct (the Code)Opens in a new window will take effect from:
- 1 January 2025 for tax practitioners with more than 100 employees (as on 31 July 2024)
- 1 July 2025 for tax practitioners with up to 100 employees (as on 31 July 2024).
The TPB will soon release guidance materials on how the new Code items will operate following public consultation.
While the Code is administered by the TPB, there are elements where practitioners will need to engage with us to discharge their Code obligations. We are currently developing solutions for those elements as a matter of priority and will be rolling them out progressively, as they become available.
False or misleading statement notifications
Our first action is to ensure there is an appropriate digital process for tax practitioners to notify us under the new Code item relating to False or misleading statements.
Broadly, under this new Code item, tax practitioners are required in some circumstances to advise their clients to correct a material false or misleading statement.
Subject to exceptions and specific threshold requirements, if the practitioner is not satisfied the client has taken action to correct the statement after a reasonable time, the practitioner must take steps to notify the ATO or TPB that the advice has not been acted on. For more information on the requirements for making a notification, refer to the TPB's Information sheet on False or Misleading Statements.
We are currently identifying an existing digital channel that can be used by tax practitioners to notify us that will ensure the security and appropriate treatment of the information you provide.
In the new year, we will provide more details about how to make a notification, your obligations from an ATO perspective, and how we intend to use the information once we receive it.