You confirm that you, and any other person you nominate in writing from time to time (provided we have acknowledged such nomination), are authorised to give us instructions on behalf of all parties. If conflicting instructions arise for a business, matters are referred to leadership.
We will advise you and your spouse/partner (if applicable) on the basis that you are a family unit with shared interests. Either party may be contacted regarding the other's affairs unless arrangements change via email notification. By engaging us on this basis, each of you consents to us acting for both and to us discussing either party's affairs with the other. If your relationship ends, please tell us promptly: a conflict of interest may arise that prevents us from continuing to act for both of you, and we may need to ask each of you to obtain separate advice.
We are subject to Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws. Where we provide a service regulated under those laws, we are required to verify your identity — and, where relevant, the identity of beneficial owners and the source of your funds — before we begin that service. This may involve database and electronic verification checks. We may ask for identification documents and further information from time to time, and may be required to re-verify your details. If we are unable to complete these checks, we may be prevented from acting for you and may need to decline or suspend the engagement. We are required to keep records of these checks, and in some circumstances the law prohibits us from telling you that we have made a report to a regulator.
You must provide us with all information necessary for dealing with your affairs including information which we reasonably request, in sufficient time to enable our services to be completed before any applicable deadline. The information you give us must be complete, accurate and not misleading, and you must tell us promptly of any change in your circumstances. Giving us all relevant information by the due date also helps protect you: under the safe harbour provisions of the taxation law, you may be protected from certain administrative penalties for a false or misleading statement where you gave us all the relevant information to prepare your document on time. Where we act as your registered tax agent, you may also need to nominate us as your agent through the ATO's online services (for example, the agent nomination process for companies, trusts and other entities). We cannot access your ATO records or lodge on your behalf until that nomination is complete.
Our services are limited exclusively to those you have engaged us to perform. Unless otherwise specified in the engagement letter, our services cannot be relied upon to disclose irregularities and errors, including fraud and other illegal acts, in your affairs.
Advice given verbally is not intended to be relied upon unless confirmed in writing. Important matters are documented; verbal guidance requires written confirmation.
If we become aware that a statement made to the Australian Taxation Office or another agency is, or may be, false, incorrect or misleading in a material way, we are required by law to take steps to correct it. We will tell you and ask you to make the correction. If a material error or omission is not corrected within a reasonable time, we may be required to withdraw from the engagement and, in certain circumstances, to notify the Tax Practitioners Board or the ATO. These are legal obligations we cannot contract out of.
We will not provide you with investment or financial advice regulated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) unless we have expressly agreed to do so in writing, specifying an applicable Australian Financial Services Licence number.
The firm complies with APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and relevant standards from the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board. We are also bound by the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 and the Code of Professional Conduct administered by the Tax Practitioners Board, and by the professional and ethical standards of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. We cannot contract out of these obligations, and nothing in these terms limits them.
We maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the requirements of the Tax Practitioners Board and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Details are available on request.
We will inform you if we become aware of any conflict of interest in our relationship with you (including between the various persons this engagement letter covers) or in our relationship with you and another client.
Our fees are set out in the engagement letter. We confirm our fees with you each year. Fees will typically rise over time in line with inflation and/or the complexity of the work, and any change will be agreed with you before it applies.
Invoices are due within 14 days. Late payment interest is charged at 5% above the RBA cash rate, calculated daily and compounded monthly.
If permitted by law and our professional obligations, we may retain documents and materials we have prepared for you until all outstanding fees and disbursements are paid in full. This does not extend to your own source records, which remain yours and will be returned to you on request.
We do not maintain a trust account for dealing with client monies on their behalf. Any tax refund is paid by the ATO directly to your nominated bank account. We do not receive refunds on your behalf and do not deduct our fees from any refund.
We will take all reasonable steps to keep your information confidential, except where required by law, regulation, court order, or professional obligations to disclose. Information may be shared with service providers, regulators, and professional advisers under confidentiality requirements.
We collect and use personal information for the purposes of providing the services described in the engagement letter to you, and we will comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) when processing that personal information.
We own the copyright and all other intellectual property rights in everything we create in connection with this engagement. The source records you provide to us remain yours and will be returned to you on request. Our working papers remain our property. We retain records relating to your engagement for at least 5 years, or longer where the law requires.
Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation, being the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Professional Standards Scheme. The firm excludes liability for indirect, special, or consequential losses, to the extent permitted by law. Nothing in these terms excludes any liability that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law or other applicable law.
Our advice and information is for your sole use, and we accept no responsibility to any third party, unless we have expressly agreed in the engagement letter that a specified third party may rely on our work.
Each of us may terminate this agreement by giving not less than 21 days' notice in writing to the other party, except where a conflict of interest has arisen or breach occurs, allowing immediate termination.
Unless you instruct us otherwise we may, where appropriate, communicate with you and with third parties via email or by other electronic means.
We deliver our services using cloud-based software, principally Xero and Microsoft 365, with data hosted on servers located in Australia. We do not outsource client work to third-party providers outside our practice. We may use technology tools, including artificial intelligence, to assist in delivering our services, and this may involve your information being processed by those tools. By engaging us, you consent to us using such tools with your information for the purpose of providing our services. Where we do, we take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality and security of your information, including configuring our tools, as far as reasonably practicable, so that your information is not used to train AI models and is retained only for a limited period. A qualified person reviews the output, and we remain responsible for the advice and work we provide to you. If you would prefer that we do not use artificial intelligence tools to process your information, you may tell us in writing at any time, and we will accommodate your request.
Our engagement is governed by Victorian law. The courts sitting in that State will have non-exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any dispute between us.
Void provisions are severed. The engagement letter and these terms apply together. Where the engagement letter expressly states a term that differs from these terms, the engagement letter prevails to the extent of that difference; in all other cases these terms apply.
If you have a concern about our service, please raise it with Chad at chad@chadtax.com.au in the first instance. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly, aim to respond within 10 business days, and work with you to resolve it. If we cannot resolve it between us, you may lodge a complaint with the Tax Practitioners Board about a tax agent service at tpb.gov.au/complaints, and lodge a complaint with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand about our professional conduct.
You may consent for an Accredited Data Recipient under the Consumer Data Right (CDR) to disclose your CDR data to us.
The Tax Practitioners Board maintains a public register of registered tax agents and BAS agents at tpb.gov.au/public-register, where you can check our registration and search for any registered practitioner. The Tax Practitioners Board requires us to tell you about certain matters affecting a registered tax practitioner that occurred in the previous five years — for example, if the practitioner had their registration suspended or terminated, became bankrupt or entered external administration, was convicted of a serious tax offence or an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, or was sentenced to imprisonment. As at the date of these terms, none of these matters applies to us, and we hold no conditions on our registration. If any such matter arises, we will tell you within 30 days of becoming aware of it.
For information about your rights as a client of a tax agent, refer to the TPB factsheet at tpb.gov.au.