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The board has outlined the common code items reported so far and assured practitioners that no “frivolous or vexatious” reports have been received.
TPB reveals top breaches reported under the dob-in obligations
21 April 2025
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8 minute read
The TPB has provided insight into the types of breach reports it has received following the commencement of the breach reporting obligations on 1 July 2024.
As of 28 February 2025, the TPB had only received a total of 53 reports from registered tax practitioners indicating that they were reporting a significant breach of the Code of Professional Conduct.
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Out of the 53 reports, 38 were made by registered tax practitioners against another registered tax practitioner, and 15 were self-reported breaches.
In terms of the breach reports made against other practitioners, the TPB said the breaches being reported related to code item 1 – the obligation to act honestly and with integrity – and code item 7 – the obligation to ensure that a tax agent service is provided competently.
"We are also observing reports of fraud on clients," the TPB said.
Many of the self-reported breaches were for code item 1 and were usually concerning unethical practices being undertaken by staff in their firm.
"Tax practitioners also advised of Code item 2 issues where their personal tax obligations may not be up to date," the TPB said.
"We are also seeing breaches of Code item 6 due to inadvertent sharing of clients' personal information.
Code item 6 outlines that practitioners must not disclose any information relating to a client’s affairs to a third party without their client’s permission, unless there is a legal duty to do so.
The TPB said none of the significant breach reports received had been identified as frivolous, vexatious or malicious.
The board reminded tax practitioners that they do not need to report all breaches of the code – only those that are significant.
"You also do not have to go looking for potential Code breaches by other tax registered tax practitioners. You must report in circumstances where you become aware of a Code breach and you have reasonable grounds to believe the breach is significant," it said.
"You cannot make a significant breach report based on hearsay or others’ opinions. When making a report you must have ‘reasonable’ grounds to believe a significant breach has occurred."
The TPB said this means they must have a solid foundation or factual basis for their belief and not make frivolous, vexatious or malicious claims.
It acknowledged that establishing whether a breach is ‘significant’ in relation to the conduct of another tax practitioner may be more difficult, as they may not have access to all the information about the breach or potential breach.
"However, provided there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe the breach is ‘significant’ and you can substantiate your belief, this will generally be sufficient," it said.
"If you are not certain if there has been a significant breach of the Code but have reasonable grounds for believing there has been, you must still report the breach."
Practitioners making a report also need to let the TPB know who they are.
"However, where you are making a report about another tax practitioner there may be circumstances where you do not want your personal details disclosed to the other tax practitioner," the regulator said.
"In those circumstances, you can let us know if you have any concerns around confidentiality."
The TPB said the breach reporting requirements allow for the identification and management of the risk of non-compliance by tax practitioners with the "objective of improving services, tax practitioner conduct, protecting consumers and increasing community confidence in the system".
"Breach reporting provides important intelligence and data to shape the services, guidance and education we provide to assist tax practitioners who are doing, or seeking to do, the right thing," it said.
"This intelligence also informs our risk assessment and corresponding compliance approach."
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