Who must comply with the TASA Code of Professional Conduct?

Tax practitioners must observe honesty, competence, confidentiality, PI insurance, and (from 2025) expanded breach reporting.

Section 30-10 of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 sets the Code of Professional Conduct. From 1 January 2025, the Code is supplemented by significantly expanded breach and false-and-misleading-statement obligations under the 2024 Determinations, plus new client engagement requirements.

Applies when the business has industry: Accountants & bookkeepers.

How the regulator frames it: Registered tax agents, BAS agents, tax (financial) advisers.

What triggers it: Providing tax agent or BAS services for a fee.

Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.

Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (1 of 35: yes; 34 of 35: no).

Structure does not change the answer in accountants & bookkeepers: for every structure the answer is "yes".

Size does not change the answer in accountants & bookkeepers: at every size band the answer is "yes".

Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:

• Pty Ltd company in accountants & bookkeepers with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: applies. Industry: Accountants & bookkeepers.
• Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires industry: Accountants & bookkeepers.

When due

Continuous; specific events trigger breach reports.

Frequency

Ongoing

Evidence to keep

PI insurance, CPE log, conflict register, breach register, client engagement letters.

Status

Current

Priority

Critical

Maximum penalty: Suspension or termination of registration; civil penalties up to $1.82M (body corporate, 5,000 penalty units) for unregistered conduct.

Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.

• TPB + Senate continued response — PwC tax leaks (2024): Tax practitioner confidentiality + governance reforms substantially tighter; firm + individual exposure.
• TPB v PwC Australia (tax leaks) (2023): Confidentiality breaches in tax practice attract individual termination AND firm-level scrutiny. Information barriers must be substantively enforced.

• Maintain TPB registration (tax/BAS agents): Tax agents and BAS agents must be registered with the TPB and comply with the Code of Professional Conduct.

Across the 1,890 business profiles Rules Mate evaluates, these obligations apply to most of the businesses this one applies to, and are far more common among them than among businesses generally:

• APES 110 Code of Ethics for accountants: applies to 100% of the same businesses (35.0× the overall rate)
• TASA Code Determinations from 1 August 2024: applies to 100% of the same businesses (35.0× the overall rate)
• Maintain TPB registration (tax/BAS agents): applies to 100% of the same businesses (35.0× the overall rate)
• Designate an AML/CTF Compliance Officer: applies to 100% of the same businesses (4.4× the overall rate)
• Enrol with AUSTRAC as a reporting entity: applies to 100% of the same businesses (4.4× the overall rate)
• Maintain a written AML/CTF program: applies to 100% of the same businesses (4.4× the overall rate)

Rules Mate tracks 3 published obligations tagged "tax practitioners", 2 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated critical priority, and is an ongoing duty.

Regulated by Tax Practitioners Board.

TPB: Federal regulator of tax + BAS agents under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.

• Tax Practitioners Board

TASA: Establishes the Tax Practitioners Board + regulates tax agents, BAS agents + tax (financial) advisers.

• Tax Agent Services Act 2009

Free tools that help with this obligation:

• Compliance calendar builder