Government plans to increase the penalties for tax agent misconduct have been welcomed by CPA Australia which has labelled the changes as taking a balanced approach that builds confidence in the tax system and protects ethical practitioners.
The changes have been put forward in schedule 1 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026, currently before the House of Representatives, in response to the PwC tax leaks matter and the 2019 review of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB).
If passed the changes will expand the TPB’s sanctions powers under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 and introduce new criminal offences for unregistered preparers who charge a fee for tax agent services, advertise those services, or falsely represent themselves as a registered agent.
The maximum penalty will be 40 months’ imprisonment, 200 penalty units, or both. At present the value of a penalty unit is $330.
Two new civil penalty provisions will be created that cover false or misleading statements by unregistered preparers and breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct by registered practitioners.
Civil penalties will also increase from 250 to 2500 penalty units for individuals and from 1250 to 50,000 penalty units for bodies corporate and significant global entities, such as companies, partnerships or trusts.
The TPB will also be given new powers to issue infringement notices for specified Code breaches, accept enforceable undertakings, make contingent suspensions subject to conditions, and make interim suspensions for up to 90 days without a prior investigation if there is a high risk to a client or Commonwealth revenue.
Additionally, the maximum prohibition period after termination the TPB can put in place will double from five to 10 years.
CPA Australia regulations and standards lead Belinda Zohrab pointed out the proposed changes had been advocated by the accounting and tax agent profession.
“CPA Australia supports stronger sanctions for those who do the wrong thing, while ensuring high standards of fairness for the vast majority of tax practitioners who act professionally and ethically every day,” Zohrab said.
“Importantly, the proposed TPB powers to immediately suspend a tax practitioner’s registration has been limited to circumstances involving a significant risk of harm to clients.
“This ensures the power is reserved for the most serious cases and reduces the risk of unintended consequences.”
“The new measures send a strong signal that misconduct will not be tolerated. The introduction of criminal sanctions for unregistered providers recognises the serious risk this activity poses to the integrity of the tax system and helps protect consumers seeking tax services.”
Jason Spits
SENIOR JOURNALIST
Jason is a senior journalist with Benchmark Media and writes for the selfmanagedsuper website and magazine and smstrusteenews website. He has covered financial services since 1999 and has written about life insurance, superannuation, investment management and financial advice, in both a freelance and in-house capacity, and also did a brief stint as a media manager for an industry association. He has been the editor of trade titles Money Management and Financial Standard, and was most recently senior journalist with life insurance title Riskinfo.
Articles by Jason