1. 30-10(1) - You must act honestly and with integrity
2. 30-10(7) - You must ensure that a tax agent service that you provide, or that is provided on your behalf, is provided competently
3. 30-10(9) - You must take reasonable care in ascertaining a client's state of affairs, to the extent that ascertaining the state of those affairs is relevant to a statement you are making or a thing you are doing on behalf of the client
4. 30-10(10) - You must take reasonable care to ensure that taxation laws are applied correctly to the circumstances in relation to which you are providing advice to a client
5. 20-5 Eligibility for Registration
6. 20-5(1)(a) Individual has ceased to meet registration requirement that they are a fit and proper person

On 24 October 2024, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) decided to terminate the tax agent registration of Damien Ward (Mr Ward) as it found Mr Ward no longer met the registration requirement that he be a fit and proper person. The TPB also found that Mr Ward had engaged in conduct that involved breaches of subsections 30-10(1), 30-10(7), 30-10(9) and 30-10(10) of the Code of Professional Conduct (Code) in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). The TPB also imposed a period of one year during which Mr Ward is prohibited from applying for registration.
The TPB determined that Mr Ward breached subsection 30-10(1) of the Code when he made false statements to the Board in registration renewal applications for a Company of which he was a director (the Company), by stating that a specific individual was a nominated supervising agent of the Company when in fact the individual was never aware of, nor consented to being a supervising agent of the Company.
The Committee determined that Mr Ward breached subsections 30-10(7), 30-10(9) and 30-10(10) of the Code as:
1. he failed to ensure that a tax agent service that he provided, or that was provided on his behalf, was provided competently by failing to take reasonable care in the preparation and lodgement of income tax returns (ITRs) for the 2023 income year for 33 clients, whose returns were subject to Australian Taxation Office (ATO) compliance activities and found to have included overclaimed, or incorrect, deduction claims that did not have sufficient nexus to assessable income and/or could not be adequately substantiated and resulted in tax shortfalls payable by these clients.
2. he did not take reasonable care in ascertaining the state of affairs of 33 of his clients that were relevant to the preparation of their 2023 ITRs, which resulted in those individuals having their 2023 ITRs adjusted with tax shortfalls imposed after the audits by the ATO.
3. he did not take reasonable care to ensure that the taxation laws were applied correctly to the circumstances in which he provided advice to 33 clients when preparing their 2023 ITRs.
In addition to the Code breaches, the TPB determined that Mr Ward ceased to meet the tax practitioner registration requirements to be a fit and proper person as he:
1. misled the Board in multiple renewal applications for the Company in declaring an individual was a supervising agent of the Company, in circumstances where that individual had not consented to being a supervising agent of the Company
2. failed to take reasonable care and instead was reckless in his preparation of ITRs on behalf of taxpayer clients of the Company, subsequently resulting in these taxpayers having their ITRs adjusted, and shortfalls being imposed upon audit by the ATO
3. engaged in conduct that undermines the integrity of the taxation system and is therefore not a person whom the Commissioner, clients and the public could have confidence would perform the functions of a registered tax agent competently and with integrity.

In determining it was appropriate to terminate Mr Ward’s tax agent registration, the TPB noted that Mr Ward was previously found by the Board, following an investigation, to have engaged in similar breaches of the Code, with the Board issuing Mr Ward an order. The TPB also noted that Mr Ward and the Company were advised by the ATO prior to the end of the 2023 financial year that:
a. their clients’ work-related expenses were higher than other tax agents’ comparable clients and his clients’ tax returns may be stopped and adjusted
b. to take reasonable care in ascertaining his clients’ state of affairs and ensuring that taxation laws are applied correctly to their circumstances
c. To ensure clients have the necessary supporting documents
d. To ensure that tax agent services provided, or provided on their behalf, are provided competently.