Dispute Resolution charter

Membership

Membership process

The chair, in consultation with the Second Commissioner, Corporate Services and Law, will determine membership.

Membership comprises representatives of major tax, law and accounting professional associations, industry representatives and senior members of the ATO. Professional associations are the primary members and individuals are nominated as representatives of their organisation. Individuals do not represent their own client base.

The chair in consultation with the Second Commissioner may invite representatives of the Federal Court, State Courts, Administrative Appeals Tribunal, academics and ADR professional associations to attend in an advisory capacity.

Members may choose to withdraw form a forum at any time. Where possible, reasons for withdrawal will be sought.

Terms and conditions of external membership

External membership is determined by an individuals or entities involvement and/or knowledge of dispute resolution.

Associations are ongoing forum members and are responsible for nominating a representative to attend meetings.

Corporate entities have annual forum membership and are responsible for nominating a representative to attend meetings.

Individuals and industry representatives are annual forum members and may not send substitute attendees to meetings.

Government agencies are ongoing forum members and are responsible for nominating a representative to attend meetings.

Attendance policy

Members may send a replacement to a meeting, provided the replacement has a comparable level of expertise (except in the case of individual or industry members). Members should advise the secretariat at least one week prior to the meeting if a replacement will be attending.

The chair may identify additional advisers to attend meetings for a term defined by the chair.

Other ATO staff may attend meetings when agenda items specific to their business will be discussed.

Members

Membership shall be updated as required. Such changes are deemed not to be changes to the charter.

Internal members are:

Position	Name	Role
First Assistant Commissioner, Law and Practice	Debbie Hastings	Chair
Assistant Commissioner, ATO People	Toni Balik	Member
Assistant Commissioner, Legal Services Branch	Damien Browne	Member
Assistant Commissioner, Active Compliance Improvement Leader	Peter Coakley	Member
Assistant Commissioner, Dispute's Management	George Holton	Member
ATO General Counsel	Simon Matthews	Member
Deputy Chief Tax Counsel	Robert Olding	Member
Assistant Commissioner, Small and Medium Enterprise	Matt Umina	Member
Deputy Commissioner, Debt	Steve Vesperman	Member

External members are:

Organisation	Name	Type of Organisation
Law Council of Australia	Gerry Bean	Professional
Law Council of Australia	Judy Sullivan	Professional
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia	Michael Bersten	Professional
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia	Ashley King	Professional
Corporate Tax Association	Michelle de Niese	Professional
The Tax Institute	Gina Lazanas	Professional
The Tax Institute	Dr Niv Tadmore	Professional
CPA Australia	Sue Williamson	Professional
Attorney General's Department	Allison Wood	Government
NADRAC	Stephen Lancken	Government
Federal Court	Michael Wall	Government
Administrative Appeals Tribunal	Kim Richardson	Government
Academic	Professor Tania Sourdin	Individual
Barrister	Christopher Branson QC	Individual
Independent Contractors of Australia	Ken Phillips	Industry

Advisers

Non permanent advisers will be additional internal subject matter experts invited to attend and participate as the work program dictates.

Observers

Observer will be invited at the discretion of the chair to attend as the work program dictates.

Secretariat

	Andrew Johnston
Phone:	(02) 9374 2229
Email:	DRSub-committee@ato.gov.au

Confidentiality arrangements for members

A confidentiality agreement will not be used unless:

1. There are exceptional circumstances, meaning that the confidentiality agreement:
• is required by government - that is, by an Act or other Legislative Instrument or by a ministerial direction, or
• is required for material commercial-in-confidence considerations - that is, to enable the information to be legitimately put to, or held in confidence by, the forum, and
2. The confidentiality agreement:
• identifies the reason it is required, the confidential information to which it relates, and applicable timeframes, and
• allows the recipient of the information to liaise with other members of the forum, and (where applicable) subject matter experts in their own organisations, on the basis that the information is confidential.