Eleven Wentworth Chambers

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 28 Feb 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

Treasury released a joint legal opinion from Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand examining section 45(1)(a) of the Tax Agent Service (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024. The opinion addresses obligations for registered tax agents and BAS agents to disclose matters that could significantly influence clients' decisions to engage or continue their services. Disclosure must occur when clients inquire about engagement or within 30 days of the agent becoming aware of relevant matters. The opinion identifies ambiguity in the Determination regarding whether agents must disclose matters significant only to particular clients versus those significant to clients generally. It notes the disclosure obligation depends on agent awareness and whether matters fall within clients' known personal views about agent suitability, while acknowledging the agent's responsibility to exercise reasonable care in ascertaining client circumstances under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.