Walsh and Tax Practitioners Board

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Mr Walsh for registration as a BAS agent, following a decision by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) to reject his application. The dispute centred on whether Mr Walsh had met the prescribed educational requirements for registration, specifically the successful completion of a Board-approved course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Walsh had satisfied the eligibility criteria for registration as a BAS agent under section 20-5(1)(b) of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) and regulation 7 of the relevant Regulations. This involved assessing whether he had successfully completed a course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles that was approved by the TPB, as required by either item 101(b) or item 102(b) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

The Tribunal reasoned that the TPB's Information Sheet TPB(I) 04/2011 outlined the topics that a Board-approved course must cover. Mr Walsh contended that seminars he attended, including those with CPA Australia and the National Tax Accountants and Agents Association, constituted equivalent training. However, the TPB had determined that these were continuing professional development (CPD) events, not approved courses. The Tribunal found that Mr Walsh had not demonstrated that the seminars he attended met the specific curriculum requirements for a Board-approved course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles, nor had he provided sufficient evidence of relevant experience. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the TPB's decision to reject Mr Walsh's application.