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Organisational capability

Published 12 August 2024

Workforce

Our staff are critical to our regulatory effectiveness and our ability to support the tax profession to provide professional and ethical services.

The TPB’s success depends on our people. We are committed to their wellbeing and engagement, supporting personal and professional growth. The role of the TPB as a small independent regulator, is critical to upholding the integrity of the tax profession and tax system. To meet this purpose, we are focused on attracting and retaining the right highly engaged and skilled staff, into the right roles, and to build our organisational capability. More specifically we are adding to our compliance capabilities to meet the needs of law reform and position the TPB as an effective regulator.

Further, the TPB has invested in an internal people and culture function which has been charged with providing strategic people and culture direction to realise these goals. A renewal of the TPB’s strategic people and culture direction is underway to identify, support, develop and enhance organisational key enablers. This will build on our existing actions and initiatives including the TPB excellence awards, recognition of service milestones and the Innovation Incubator program.

We will also continue to build our organisational capability though targeted and specialised learning, training and development by:

  • using the ATO and APS Academy’s catalogue of training and development courses and offerings
  • sourcing specific training courses directly to meet identified needs.

Technology

We create contemporary technology solutions and processes to continue to improve our regulation activities and support tax practitioners.

A fundamental priority is significantly investing in technology so that we can be a digitally-enabled and data-informed regulator. We continue to improve our data analytics and science capability to develop data driven solutions for informed decision-making, subject to human verification, including the utility of our risk and measurement tools.

We have developed data-driven risk engines designed to identify systemic risk, and higher-risk tax practitioners who are engaged in misconduct and those providing tax practitioner services while unregistered. We consistently enhance these tools with regular feedback to ensure their relevance, efficiency and effectiveness.

We are streamlining our services and interactions with tax practitioners through our enhancements program and legislative changes. This will ensure they are efficient and easy to use. We are building new technology solutions to manage reporting and processing of tax practitioners employing disqualified entities. We are making changes to the public register that improve practitioner data presentation and search capabilities to support the tax practitioners and public.

We continue to implement a range of improvements to provide a reliable and secure computing environment for the TPB, staff and community, recognising ongoing and increasing cybersecurity issues.

Our focus remains on using our technology to hone our compliance action so we can focus on dealing with the highest risks to the community and tax system, supporting the public, the tax profession, and our economy.

The profession

We support public trust and confidence in the tax profession by ensuring tax practitioner standards.

Tax practitioners are facing multiple challenges in their work environment, such as:

  • the high cost of living
  • rising operating costs
  • increasing reliance on technology
  • the changing methods to engage with clients.

We recognise these challenges, and we are committed to making it easier for tax practitioners to register and meet their new or ongoing obligations and practice, giving them more time to focus on supporting their clients.

As the law reform program continues to progress, the scope and nature of tax practitioner services naturally change. Therefore, it is vital that tax practitioners keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Continuing professional education (CPE) plays a crucial role in assisting tax practitioners to stay on top of such changes. Our CPE policy is designed to encourage all registered tax practitioners to engage in ongoing education.

We help to improve tax practitioner standards and integrity through our guidance products. We also provide information via webinars, newsletters, press releases, social media, and messages sent to tax practitioners directly and through their professional associations. Our website is updated regularly with useful information, including resources such as policy and guidance material.

Community expectations

The tax profession, government, and registered professional associations are facing increased scrutiny from various stakeholders, including within government itself, the public, and other regulators.

This is due to several factors, such as:

  • increased community awareness of unacceptable behaviours, and in turn a rise in expectations of professional and ethical services
  • new obligations from the law reform program, introducing scrutiny from within the profession
  • a gap between the perceived and actual quality and integrity of tax services, which creates tension and distrust among stakeholders.

 

It falls on the TPB, ATO, professional associations, and tax practitioners themselves to bridge this gap and to enhance the reputation and performance of the tax profession. Some of the measures that are being taken to achieve this include the following:

The TPB’s compliance program has increased investigations into high-risk tax practitioners and unregistered practitioners.

The TPB continues to encourage firms to improve their professional standards, transparency, governance, quality assurance, supervision, and control.

The TPB provides guidance, education, and support to tax practitioners to help them comply with their obligations.

The ATO continues to monitor and enforce tax laws and regulations, and to collaborate with the TPB to address issues and risks in the tax system.

Professional associations continue to represent and advocate for the interests and needs of their members, providing them with resources, training and networking opportunities. The professional associations also work with the TPB and the ATO to promote ethical and professional conduct among tax practitioners, taking appropriate investigative and disciplinary action.

Tax practitioners continue to uphold their duty of care to their clients, and to act with honesty, competence, and independence. The TPB continues to encourage practitioners to update their knowledge and skills, and to adopt best practices and standards in their work.

Increased expectations of the tax profession in Australia creates an opportunity for the profession to demonstrate its value and contribution. By working together, we can ensure the tax profession is respected, trusted, and effective. Recognising the opportunity, the TPB is committed to working with government, partner agencies, professional associations, tax practitioners and the community.

 

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