Key Documents
The Australian Government has released a set of exposure draft legislation that amends the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA) and the Taxation Administration Regulations 2017 (TAR) to deliver part of its response to the breach of confidence and unethical use of confidential information by PwC.
The draft bill amendments extend existing whistleblower protections to a new range of disclosures related to potential misconduct by tax practitioners, include disclosures to the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). The draft regulations prescribe the TPB and Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) as eligible recipients, improving information sharing within the regulator community.
The government welcomes feedback from stakeholders on the draft legislation, regulations, and explanatory materials.
Background
In August 2023, the government announced a package of reform in response to tax adviser misconduct in Australia, to ensure that tax advice is provided in accordance with appropriate professional and ethical standards.
The package of reforms included:
- extending whistleblower protections for disclosures to the TPB, as well as a number of bodies that provide assistance in relation to whistleblower disclosures
- aligning some protections in the tax whistleblower regime with the Public Interest Disclosure regime,
- enabling the Australian Taxation Office, ACNC and TPB to share disclosed information more effectively.
The draft legislation implements these objectives through amendments to the whistleblower provisions in the TAA and TAR.
Submissions
View the published submissions received through this process.