Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to talk today about the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024, a disallowance motion for which is currently before the Senate. A number of accountants, tax practitioners and others across New South Wales have been in touch with me to express their concern about elements of this determination and, in particular, sections 45 and 15. They're concerned for two reasons: firstly, that they may be required to disclose issues of a deeply personal or private nature to prospective clients and, secondly, because of the potential impact on the relationship of confidentiality and trust that should exist between a tax practitioner or adviser and their client.

Let me address those concerns briefly. The new section 45 requires a disclosure of any matter that may significantly influence a decision to engage a practitioner. This could include, for instance, the practitioner's health, potentially their marital status, any problems they might be having at home, any substance abuse or addictive elements, as well as things such as an investigation by the Tax Practitioners Board which has not yet led to a conclusion. And this would also be retrospective in nature, requiring disclosure back to 1 July. Section 15 effectively requires them to dob in clients for material, false, misleading or incorrect statements in a way that may inhibit their clients from having a frank conversation with them.

The Assistant Treasurer has recognised some of these challenges and has deferred the implementation date, but I urge my colleagues to study this determination closely, talk to tax practitioners affected by this determination and join us in this disallowance motion to allow proper consultation to be had with those affected by these quite far-reaching changes.