Tax Practitioners Board v Auz Tax Pty Ltd

The Federal Court held that the Administrative Review Tribunal did not err in declining to terminate the registration of a tax agent and its sole director despite ongoing failure to meet the registration requirement of having sufficient registered tax agents for supervision, where the Tribunal instead imposed corrective orders under s 30-20 of the TAS Act requiring appointment of additional directors and registered agents at each branch. The Court confirmed that the Part 4 termination power is discretionary even where registration requirements are not presently met, and that the availability of Part 3 administrative sanctions (including corrective orders) may be considered as an alternative to termination without impermissibly conflating the two regimes. The Court also held that a finding of past lack of integrity does not compel a conclusion that a person is not presently fit and proper, and that the impact of termination or suspension on existing clients is not an irrelevant consideration under the TAS Act.