Tax Practitioners Board of Australia ends submissions on AI draft for tax agents
The submissions period has closed for Australia’s Tax Practitioners Board exposure draft on AI and professional conduct obligations.
Australia’s Tax Practitioners Board has closed submissions on its exposure draft on the use of AI and the Code of Professional Conduct. The draft information sheet, TPB(I) D62/2026, was issued on 23 March 2026 and invited comments within 28 days.
According to the exposure draft, the guidance is intended to help registered tax agents and BAS agents understand their obligations under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 of Australia when using AI in the provision of tax agent services. The document says it focuses in particular on obligations under the Code of Professional Conduct and the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024.
The draft says tax practitioners remain ultimately responsible for the services they provide and must understand the capabilities and limitations of AI tools, assess outputs, and supplement them with professional judgement. It adds that AI outputs should inform, not replace, tax knowledge, experience, or expertise.
On competency, the draft says tax practitioners must ensure services are provided competently, maintain relevant knowledge and skills, take reasonable care in ascertaining a client’s state of affairs, and take reasonable care to ensure taxation laws are applied correctly. It also says practitioners should verify AI-generated content for accuracy and establish processes to understand and contest AI decisions or outputs.
The exposure draft also addresses confidentiality. It says tax practitioners must not disclose information relating to a client’s affairs to a third party without the client’s permission, and notes that this may include entering client information into AI chatbots or copilots, depending on how those tools are configured and used. It also says practitioners should review commercial AI tools to ensure client information will be kept secure and that Privacy Act 1988 requirements are met.
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