Tax Agent Services – Code of Professional Conduct


Under section 45 of the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 (Code Determination), we are required to advise all current and prospective clients of the following information: 

  1. Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) public register – The TPB maintain a public register of tax and BAS agents. You can access and search that register here 


You can find Desborough Accountants on the register here

  1. If you wish to make a complaint about Desborough Accountants in relation to a breach of the Code of Professional Conduct, you can do so by writing to the TPB via their website. Further information about our complaints process is available here
  1. Rights, responsibilities and obligations – the below provides general information about our rights, responsibilities and obligations as a registered tax practitioner under the taxation laws, and obligations our clients have to us

As a Registered Tax Agent, Desborough Accountants have an obligation to:

  • act honestly and with integrity
  • uphold and promote the ethical standards of the tax profession 
  • act lawfully in your best interests
  • manage any conflicts of interest
  • take reasonable care to ascertain your state of affairs and apply tax laws correctly
  • keep your information confidential unless there is a legal duty to disclose
  • provide services competently
  • not knowingly obstruct the administration of the tax laws
  • advise you of your rights and obligations under the tax laws
  • account to you for money or other property on trust
  • not make false or misleading statements to the TPB or ATO, and in some cases withdraw our engagement with you and notify the TPB or ATO of certain matters 
  • keep proper records
  • keep you informed of certain matters so you can make informed decisions (see item 4) 
  • address any false or misleading statements we are responsible for
  • engage with clients to address other false or misleading statements, exploring options to correct.

Taxpayers have a responsibility to:

  • be truthful with the information you provide your tax practitioner 
  • keep the required records and provide them to your tax practitioner on a timely basis, as required
  • be co-operative with your tax practitioner’s requests and meet their due date 
  • comply with the tax laws.

Please note that if you do not meet your obligations the ATO may impose administrative penalties (fines), interest charges may be applied and, in some cases, criminal prosecutions may be sought and the ATO may initiate debt recovery.

  1. We are required to provide information regarding prescribed events, should they occur or have occurred in the last five years. Currently Desborough Accountants has no prescribed events to report. Prescribed events that would require reporting should they be relevant include instances where:
  • our registration was suspended or terminated by the TPB
  • we were an undischarged bankrupt or went into external administration
  • we were convicted of a serious taxation offence 
  • we were convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty
  • we were serving, or were sentenced to, a term of imprisonment in Australia for 6 months or more
  • we were penalised, subject to an injunction, or been subject to an order for breaching a voluntary undertaking for:
    • being a promoter of a tax exploitation scheme
    • implementing a scheme that has been promoted on the basis of conformity with a public ruling, private ruling or oral ruling in a way that is materially different from that described in the ruling
    • promoting on the basis of conformity with a public ruling, private ruling or oral ruling a scheme that is materially different from that described in the ruling
  • the Federal Court has ordered you to pay a pecuniary penalty for contravening a civil penalty provision under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.

The Tax Agent Registration of Desborough Accountants is not subject to any conditions that limit the scope of tax agent services we can provide.
The obligation to provide this information highlights the importance of our role as a registered tax practitioner to preserve public trust and confidence in the tax system. Helping to ensure that clients are provided with relevant information, so they can make fully informed decisions as to whether to engage (or continue to engage) us to use our services and to represent them in their tax affairs.
LINK TO FACT SHEET – Information for clients
June 2025