Key Highlights

  • Anyone who charges a fee to prepare tax returns without being registered now faces possible criminal charges, under laws that, received Royal Assent on 15 September 2026 and commenced on 1 October.
  • The Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026 passed both houses on 10 September 2026.
  • The package is part of the government's response to the PwC tax leaks scandal.
  • PwC, in an addendum to its tax alert dated 28 September, reported Royal Assent on 15 September and commencement on 1 October.

Anyone who charges a fee to prepare tax returns without being registered now faces possible criminal charges, under laws that, received Royal Assent on 15 September 2026 and commenced on 1 October. The changes also give the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) new sanctions, including bans of up to 10 years. They arrive in the final weeks before the 31 October 2026 deadline for people lodging their own 2025–26 returns.

What Parliament Passed

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026 passed both houses on 10 September 2026. In a joint release that day, Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh said it introduced a "stronger sanctions framework including criminal penalties for unregistered tax preparers", "new civil penalties for breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct", "increased penalty amounts" and "new powers for the Tax Practitioners Board".

The package is part of the government's response to the PwC tax leaks scandal. It also carried changes to foreign resident capital gains tax and expanded deductible gift recipient status. The Treasurer announced on 20 August that the bill had passed the House of Representatives, and the Senate dealt with it in the September sittings.

PwC, in an addendum to its tax alert dated 28 September, reported Royal Assent on 15 September and commencement on 1 October. Accountants Daily and The Accountant also reported 1 October as the start date for the TPB measures.

The New Criminal Offences

The law creates five new criminal offences aimed at people who are not registered but provide tax agent or BAS agent services for a fee, advertise those services, or falsely claim to be a registered agent.

The maximum penalty is 40 months' imprisonment, a fine of 200 penalty units, or both. A Commonwealth penalty unit is worth $364 for offences committed on or after 1 July 2026, so 200 penalty units equals $72,800. That conversion is a calculation; the value that applies depends on when an offence occurs.

The rules reinforce a long-standing principle. The ATO states that only registered tax agents can charge a fee for preparing a tax return. The new offences are aimed at services provided for a fee, advertising and false claims of registration, rather than a relative helping out for free.

Registration matters for clients as well. Registered agents must meet the Code of Professional Conduct and hold professional indemnity insurance, and they sit under the TPB's oversight. A taxpayer who pays an unregistered preparer gets none of those protections, yet generally remains responsible for what is in their own return, including any shortfall penalties and interest if it is wrong.

Civil Penalties Rise Tenfold or More

Civil penalties have also jumped. the maximum for individuals rises from 250 to 2,500 penalty units. At $364 a unit, that is a move from $91,000 to $910,000.

For bodies corporate and significant global entities, the maximum rises from 1,250 to 50,000 penalty units. At the same unit value, that is $455,000 rising to $18.2 million. Again, these dollar figures are calculations. Before 1 July 2026 the Commonwealth penalty unit was worth $330, so ceilings for earlier conduct are worked out at that lower value.

Sources

Treasury Ministers – Legislation to strengthen the tax system passes the Parliament (10 September 2026)