The requirements form part of the proposed Tax Agent Services Act (TASA) regulatory regime, which is currently being scrutinised by the parliamentary joint committee.
The committee is due to report on the matter later today.
According to a Treasury paper posted on Friday, the requirements take into account existing obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 for financial services licensees and “are tailored to the types of tax agent services that tax (financial) advisers may provide”.
Individuals who wish to become registered with the Tax Practitioners Board must either be a financial services licensee or a representative of a licensee, Treasury said.
“[They must also] have an appropriate breadth of tax knowledge, although not necessarily to the same depth as a tax agent, given the different focus of the advice,” the paper stated.
Treasury outlined four options for financial planners regarding education and experience requirements.
In the case of all four options, the planner must have completed a Tax Practitioners Board-approved course in Australian taxation law as well as an approved course in commercial law.
The amount of full-time experience required over the preceding five years, however, differs for each option.
Option one requires a tertiary qualification and 12 months of experience; option two requires a ‘diploma or higher’ award and 18 months of experience; option three requires three years of experience; and option four requires membership of a professional association and 18 months of experience.
The closing date for submissions to Treasury on the proposed requirements is Thursday July 11.
