Verify your agent · Tax Practitioners Board
How to verify your tax agent or BAS agent on the TPB register
Anyone charging you to prepare tax returns or BAS in Australia must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board. The register is free, fast, public, and the single best way to vet a new agent. Here’s how to use it and what to look for.
★Key takeaways
- ✓Anyone charging you a fee to lodge tax returns, prepare BAS or advise on tax law must hold a current TPB registration. Operating without registration is a Commonwealth offence.
- ✓Tax Agents can do the full scope of tax-return and tax-advice work. BAS Agents are limited to GST, PAYG, BAS, superannuation guarantee and fuel tax credits.
- ✓Search the public register free at tpb.gov.au/public-register by name, business name, registration number or location.
- ✓Look for: status “Registered”, no conditions you don’t understand, and a registration type matching the work you’re asking the agent to do.
- ✓Belt-and-braces credibility check: CPA / CA ANZ / IPA membership in addition to TPB registration. Membership in those bodies adds professional indemnity insurance, ongoing professional development and a separate complaints process.
Step by step
How to check the public register
- Go to tpb.gov.au/public-register. No login required.
- Search by the agent’s name, business name, registration number (8-digit) or suburb. The register supports partial-match.
- Open the result. Confirm the status is Registered, not Cancelled, Suspended or Terminated.
- Confirm the registration type matches your work: Tax Agent for tax returns and tax advice; BAS Agent for BAS-only.
- Check any conditions attached to the registration. Conditions narrow what an agent can do (for example, “must work under supervision” or “restricted to individual returns only”).
- Note the expiry date. Tax-agent registrations run on a 3-year renewal cycle.
- If the agent operates as a company, the register shows the company entry plus the supervising individuals attached to it.
Source: tpb.gov.au/public-register. The TPB also publishes disciplinary decisions – a separate page worth scanning if you’re evaluating a new agent.
Scope of practice
Tax Agent vs BAS Agent
| Activity | Tax Agent | BAS Agent |
|---|---|---|
| Lodge individual income tax returns | Yes | No |
| Lodge company / trust / partnership returns | Yes | No |
| Prepare and lodge BAS | Yes | Yes |
| Advise on GST law and PAYG withholding | Yes | Yes |
| Advise on income tax law and structuring | Yes | No |
| Represent you in an ATO dispute or audit | Yes | Limited to BAS matters |
| Superannuation guarantee compliance | Yes | Yes |
Tax Agent registration requires significantly more education and experience hours than BAS Agent. Source: TPB registration eligibility, tpb.gov.au/registration.
Reading a register entry
What every field on the register means
Registration number
8-digit unique identifier. Your agent should display it on their letterhead, engagement letters, invoices and website. If they don’t, ask.
Status
Registered = active and authorised. Suspended = currently can’t practice. Cancelled = registration ended (voluntary or non-renewal). Terminated = registration ended by TPB sanction.
Registration type
Tax Agent, BAS Agent, or Tax (Financial) Adviser. The scope of work each can legally provide is set by the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.
Conditions
Specific restrictions imposed by the TPB. May include supervision requirements, scope limitations, or required additional education. Read these carefully.
Business names
All trading names the entity uses. Useful when the practice operates under a different name than the registered agent.
Expiry date
Registrations run on a 3-year cycle and renew on application plus CPD evidence. An imminent expiry shouldn’t alarm you, but a lapsed expiry is a red flag.
If your agent loses registration
Practical steps
- Stop new tax work with them immediately.
- Engage a replacement agent and have them request the file via the standard ethical-letter process.
- Your records (working papers, returns, supporting documents) belong to you. The outgoing agent must release them; they cannot withhold over fee disputes.
- Notify the ATO of the change of agent. Your new agent handles this via Online Services for Agents.
- If the deregistration involved misconduct that affected your tax position, consider lodging a complaint with the TPB and, in serious cases, contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) for compensation pathways.
Belt and braces
Credentials beyond TPB
TPB registration is the legal minimum to charge for tax services. Professional body membership adds another layer of accountability:
- CPA Australia – 170,000+ members. Quality assurance program, professional indemnity insurance requirement, CPD obligation.
- CA ANZ – 136,000+ members across Australia and New Zealand. Separate complaints process and PI requirement.
- IPA – 35,000+ members. Focused on the SME practice community.
- SMSF Association – relevant if you’re engaging on self-managed super.
All major bodies publish their own member directories you can cross-check against the TPB result.
Common questions
TPB register check – common questions
What is the Tax Practitioners Board?
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) is the independent national body that registers and regulates tax agents, BAS agents and tax (financial) advisers in Australia under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009. The board sets entry standards, runs the public register, investigates complaints and can suspend or terminate registrations for misconduct.
Do I have to use a TPB-registered agent?
Only registered tax practitioners can charge a fee or reward for providing tax-agent services (lodging your return, advising on tax positions) or BAS services (preparing your BAS, advising on GST and PAYG). An unregistered person doing this work for a fee is committing an offence. You can lodge your own return for free via myGov without an agent.
What is the difference between a Tax Agent and a BAS Agent?
A Tax Agent can prepare and lodge tax returns, advise on tax law and represent you with the ATO on tax matters. A BAS Agent is limited to GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments, FBT instalments, fuel tax credits, superannuation guarantee compliance and BAS preparation. Most full-service accountants are registered as both, plus they hold CPA, CA or IPA membership.
How do I check if my agent is registered?
Go to tpb.gov.au/public-register and search by name, business name, registration number or location. The register shows the agent or company name, registration number, status (registered, suspended, cancelled, terminated), registration type (Tax Agent or BAS Agent), any conditions imposed and the registration expiry date. Searches are free and don’t require login.
What conditions can the TPB impose on an agent?
The TPB can register an agent with conditions, for example: limiting the agent to particular categories of work, requiring supervision, requiring further education, or restricting practice to specific entity types. Conditions appear on the public register entry. They are not the same as a sanction but they do signal that the TPB has identified a competency or compliance gap.
What if my tax agent loses registration mid-year?
Stop using them for new tax work immediately. They can complete in-progress lodgements only with TPB approval and only for a defined wind-down period. You need to engage another registered agent to take over. Your records belong to you; the outgoing agent must transfer them to the new agent on request and cannot withhold them over an unpaid fee dispute.
Can I trust an agent operating under a company registration?
Yes, a company can be registered as a tax or BAS agent in its own right. The TPB still requires the company to have a sufficient number of qualified individuals supervising and signing-off on services. The public register entry for a company shows the directors and the supervisory individuals attached to the registration.
How do I make a complaint about a tax agent?
Complaints go to the TPB at tpb.gov.au/complaints. You can complain about: misleading conduct, failure to act competently, breaches of confidentiality, charging unreasonable fees, failing to lodge on time, or providing tax services without authority. The TPB investigates, may impose sanctions ranging from a caution to termination of registration, and publishes outcomes on the disciplinary decisions page.