1. Terms of payment 

Unless otherwise agreed, payment terms are strictly 14 days from the date of invoice.

2. Your responsibilities 

You agree to provide, in a timely fashion, all information, documents and access reasonably required to enable us to provide the Services. Such documents, information and access may include, without limitation, files, records, accounts and data. 

You acknowledge that we will not independently verify the accuracy of such information and documents. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of any information or documentation provided to us. 

You agree to promptly notify us if, after providing information or documentation, you become aware that the information or documentation contains untrue, inaccurate or misleading content. 

You acknowledge that inaccurate, incomplete or late information may have a material effect on our ability to provide the Services.  

You are responsible for compliance with the substantiation provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth).

3. Safe harbour protections 

The Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) contains specific provisions that may provide you with “safe harbour” from administrative penalties for incorrect or late lodgement of returns. 

These safe harbour provisions will only be available to you if, amongst other things, you provide “all relevant taxation information” to us in a timely manner. 

It is therefore in your best interests to provide all documents and information requested at the times specified by us.

4. Your rights 

As an Australian taxpayer you have certain rights under Australian taxation laws, including the right to seek a private ruling from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or to appeal or object against a decision made by the Commissioner of Taxation. 

We will keep you informed of any specific rights and obligations that may arise under Australian taxation laws.

5. Limitation of liability 

We will not be responsible for any errors brought about by your failure to provide information or documentation later found to be material to your tax affairs. 

We will not be liable for any loss or damage (including direct, indirect or consequential loss) arising from any inaccuracy or other defect in any information or documents supplied by you. 

We will not be responsible for any late lodgement or other fees and fines brought about by your failure to provide required documents and information in a timely manner. 

We will not be liable for any late lodgement penalties incurred unless we are solely responsible for the late lodgement of the documentation. 

No act or omission by our accountants will be considered gross negligence, wilful default, wilful misconduct, fraud, dishonesty or breach of duty to the extent to which the act or omission was caused or contributed to by any failure by any other person (who is not within our reasonable control) to fulfil any obligations relating to the Agreement or by any other act or omission of any other person (who is not within our reasonable control). 

Any tax refund estimate provided is only an estimate and we are not responsible and will not accept liability if the ATO determines an outcome which is different than the estimate provided at the time of lodgement. 

Our accountants are a practicing member of the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) and they are covered under the IPA Professional Standards Scheme (Scheme). Under the Scheme, our accountants’ liability for damages arising out the provision of the Services will be limited to $2,000,000. 

A copy of the IPA Scheme is available on the website of the IPA at https://www.publicaccountants.org.au/membership/ppc/professional-standards-scheme.

6. Ownership of documents 

All original documents obtained from you shall remain your property. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable number of copies of the original documents for our records. 

The Services will result in the production of output documents, such as financial statements and tax returns. Any such documents which we have been specifically engaged to prepare for you will be owned by you. 

All other documents produced by us in respect of the Services, for example, general journals, general ledgers or draft documents, will remain our property. However, subject to clause 9, we will always provide you with copies of any documents you require.

7. Tax practitioners obligation to comply with the law 

We have a duty to act in our client’s best interests. However, the duty to act in our client’s best interests is subject to an overriding obligation to comply with the law, even if that may require us to act in a manner that may be contrary to your directions. For example, we could not lodge an income tax return that we believe to be false in a material respect. 

As a member of the IPA, our accountants are subject to the ethical and professional requirements of the IPA and its investigations and disciplinary processes. These requirements cover issues such as a code of ethics, adherence to accounting and auditing standards, requirements to undertake continued professional development and to hold trust money in a trust account. 

Our accountants are bound by the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including Independence Standards), and pursuant to the Responding to Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations (NOCLAR) requirements, our accountants are required to report any material potential or actual non-compliance with laws and regulations or acts of omission or commission, intentional or unintentional by a client which are contrary to the prevailing laws or regulations.  

If we decide that a disclosure under NOCLAR is required (to the appropriate authority), then such a disclosure will not be considered a breach of confidentiality.

8. Reliance by third parties 

Any reports prepared as a part of the Services (including Financial Statements and Income Tax Returns) will be prepared for distribution to you for the purpose specified in the report. There is no assumption of responsibility for any reliance on our report by any person or entity other than you and those parties indicated in the report. The report shall not be inferred or used for any purpose other than for which it was specifically prepared. Accordingly, our report may include a disclaimer to this effect.

9. Confidential information 

We may disclose the confidential information if required to do so by law, court order, a House of Parliament or a Committee of a House of Parliament or subject to our obligations set out in Clause 7 above.

10. Privacy 

We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) when collecting, using and disclosing your Personal Information (as that term is defined in the APPs) in connection with this Agreement. 

You warrant that:

 a) you are entitled to disclose any Personal Information that you provide to us under this Agreement; and

 b) you will assist us to comply with our obligations under the APPs, to the extent possible. 

As a member of the IPA, our accountants are subject to the Quality Review Program (QRP) reviews mandated by the International Federation of Accountants. By accepting this Engagement, you consent to our files relating to this engagement being made available for QRP review, if requested. Should this occur, you will be advised. Any such review will be of client records and not of you as a client.

11.  Third Party Involvement 

At times we may outsource some of our work which involves us entering into an agreement with a third party to provide specific processes, functions, services or activities for us.  If we decide to do this as part of performing the services for you, we will contact you first to seek your approval to engage other parties. 

In providing services to you, we utilise cloud computing systems provided by:

  a) Xero Limited which is based in New Zealand and uses AWS in the United States of America to host all data. https://www.xero.com/au/campaigns/xero-and-gdpr/   

  b) Microsoft Corporation (OneDrive and Outlook) which is based in the United States of America but stores all Australian data in Australia.https://docs.microsoft.com/en-GB/microsoft-365/enterprise/o365-data-locations?ms.officeurl=datamaps&view=o365-worldwide

  c) JN Projects, Inc. (Hellosign) which is based in the United States of America and uses AWS in the United States of America to host their data. https://faq.hellosign.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043538351-Data-residency-  

 d) Sophos Pty Ltd which is operated from Sydney, Australia and stores data in varies countries, such as USA, Germany, Canada and Ireland via Amazon Web Services.  https://docs.sophos.com/central/Framework/security-framework/central/Framework/concepts/SophosCentralPlatform.html

This engagement is a contract between you and us, and you agree that none of the third parties we use will have any liability to you and you will not bring any claim or proceedings of any nature in connection with this engagement against any third party that we may use to provide the services.  This exclusion will not apply to any liability, claim or proceeding founded on an allegation of fraud or other liability that cannot be excluded under law.

12. Governing law 

This Agreement and all aspects of our work are governed by the laws of Queensland. 

13. Termination 

Either party may at any time, with at least 30 days’ written notice to the other party, terminate this Agreement without cause, in which case you will be liable to pay us for all Services provided up to the effective date of termination. 

14. Lien over documents 

If permitted by law, we may exercise a lien over all materials or records in our possession to all engagements for you until all outstanding fees and disbursements are paid in full.