Amendment timeline
Taxation Administration Act 1953
Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth)
About this Act
The Commonwealth Act governing tax administration — assessment, collection, recovery, penalty regime, secrecy and information-gathering. Schedule 1 contains most of the substantive administrative law (running to thousands of pages). The Tax Agent Services Act 2009 sits alongside the TAA 1953 regulating registered tax agents, BAS agents and tax (financial) advisers through the Tax Practitioners Board.
- Original Royal Assent
- 4 June 1953
- Original commencement
- 4 June 1953
Amendment timeline
Chronological list, oldest to newest. Each entry cites the legislation.gov.au compilation or as-made source and, where available, regulator guidance.
Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Accountability and Fairness) Act 2024
Royal Assent
2 July 2024
Commencement
Various 2024
What changed
First post-PwC reform package. Strengthened the Tax Practitioners Board's investigation and sanction powers (longer suspension periods, broader misconduct grounds), tightened the promoter penalty regime in s 290-50 TAA 1953 Schedule 1 (max penalty raised significantly), extended tax whistleblower protections under Part IV-IIIB TAA, and gave the ATO expanded information-disclosure powers for cross-agency intelligence sharing.
Who's affected
Tax agents and BAS agents; tax promoters; ATO employees with information-disclosure obligations; whistleblowers.
Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024
Subordinate instrument under Tax Agent Services Act 2009
Royal Assent
Registered 2 Jul 2024
Commencement
1 Aug 2024 (large firms: applies from 1 Jan 2025; small firms: 1 Jul 2025)
What changed
Added eight new Code obligations for registered tax agents and BAS agents, including obligations not to make false or misleading statements, to take reasonable care to ascertain client circumstances, to maintain knowledge and skills, to advise clients of their tax law rights and obligations, and to maintain professional indemnity insurance to TPB requirements. Initially controversial — the Government extended transition periods after profession-wide lobbying.
Who's affected
All registered tax agents, BAS agents and tax (financial) advisers (~75,000+ practitioners).
What's coming next
Further TPB reforms — the Government is consulting on civil penalty regime expansion for unregistered tax agent activity, stricter education standards, and mandatory CPD audit. Promoter penalty modernisation continues — Treasury reviewing thresholds for the s 290 regime after the PwC matter. Tax whistleblower protection expansion to be considered alongside broader Sarbanes-Oxley-style reform.
Why this matters now
The Code Determination 2024 imposed real new obligations on every registered tax practitioner from August 2024 — PI insurance, false-statement, advice-on-rights and competence obligations. The TPB has signalled active enforcement. Promoter penalty exposure is now in the $1M+ range for individuals and substantially higher for entities — directly relevant to corporate tax planning advisors. Whistleblower protections operate across the entire Tax Acts portfolio.
Frequently asked
Do the 8 new Code obligations apply to me?
If you're a registered tax agent, BAS agent or tax (financial) adviser — yes. From 1 January 2025 if you're in a firm with more than 100 employees as at 31 July 2024. From 1 July 2025 for everyone else. Failing to comply is grounds for TPB sanction including registration cancellation.
What is the promoter penalty regime?
Section 290-50 TAA 1953 Sch 1: civil penalty for promoting a tax exploitation scheme. The 2024 reforms substantially increased maximum penalties (now $1.65M+ for individuals, much higher for body corporates), expanded the definition of 'promoter' to cover broader categories of advisor, and extended limitation periods.
Are tax whistleblowers protected?
Yes — Part IV-IIIB TAA 1953. Eligible whistleblowers who disclose suspected tax misconduct to the ATO (or other prescribed bodies) are protected from civil, criminal and administrative liability arising from the disclosure, and have remedies for victimisation. Protections strengthened by the 2024 Tax Accountability and Fairness Act.
What is the PI insurance requirement under the new Code?
Obligation 8 of the Code Determination 2024: registered practitioners must maintain professional indemnity insurance to the standards required by the TPB. The TPB requires minimum cover (typically $1M+ depending on practice size and revenue). Tax practitioners are now required to evidence cover annually.
What is 'false or misleading statement' under the Code?
Obligation 1: a practitioner must not make, prepare or direct someone else to make or prepare a statement that the practitioner knows, or ought reasonably to know, is false or misleading in a material particular (including by omission). This is wider than the ATO's existing s 8K/8N TAA offences — it's a regulatory obligation triggering TPB sanction.
Other amendment timelines
Rules Mate summarises and links to legislation.gov.au and regulator guidance. We do not republish statutory text. Every date in this timeline has been verified against the Federal Register of Legislation as at 6 June 2026. Always verify against the live source before acting. Compliance tools, not legal advice. Consult a qualified professional.