07 4617 8200 admin@cttaxqld.com.au

Terms and Conditions

Terms of Business

These Terms of Business apply in respect of the services you have engaged CT Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd to provide under the Client Services Agreement. These Terms of Business and the Client Services Agreement form the basis of the contract between you and CT Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd.

1. Who may instruct us

You confirm that you, and any other person you nominate in writing from time to time, are authorised to give us instructions and information on behalf of all persons we are acting for and to receive our advice and documents on their behalf.

If we are acting for a business, and we receive conflicting advice, information or instructions from different persons, we may refer the matter to the board of directors, partners or proprietors (as applicable) and act only as requested by them.

2. You and your spouse/partner

We will advise you and your spouse/partner on the basis that you are a family unit with shared interests.  We may deal with either of you and may discuss with either of you the affairs of the other. If you wish to change these arrangements, please let us know.

3. Know your customer

We may be required to verify your identity for the purposes of the anti-money laundering laws. We may request from you such information as we require for these purposes and make searches of appropriate databases.

4. Your responsibilities

You must provide us with all information necessary for dealing with your affairs including information which we reasonably request, in sufficient time to enable our services to be completed before any applicable deadline.  We will rely on such information being true, correct and complete and will not audit the information.

You authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate for information that we consider necessary to deal with your affairs.

You must keep us informed on a timely basis of changes in your circumstances that may affect our services.

Tax Engagements – Your responsibilities

Australia’s income tax and indirect tax system is based on a self-assessment. The Commissioner is entitled to rely on any statements made. Where those statements are later found to be incorrect, the Commissioner may amend your assessments and, in addition to any tax assessed, you may also be liable for penalties and interest charges. The period of review is up to four years. Where the Commissioner forms an opinion of fraud or evasion, there is no limit for amending assessments.

You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the particulars and information required to comply with the various taxation laws. We will use the information supplied in the preparation of your returns.

 You have an obligation to keep proper records that will substantiate the taxation returns prepared and satisfy the substantiation requirements of the various tax laws for at least 5 years. Failure to keep such records could result in claims being disallowed, additional tax being imposed, and the imposition of penalty or general interest charges.

 Your rights as a taxpayer include:

  • The right to seek a private ruling;
  • The right to object to an assessment by the Commissioner;
  • The right to appeal against an adverse decision by the Commissioner.

 Certain time limitations may exist for you to exercise these rights. Should you wish to exercise these rights at any time you should contact us so that we can provide you with the relevant time frames and to discuss any additional requirements that may exist.

Tax Engagements – Our responsibilities

We are bound by the Tax Agents Services Act Code of Professional Conduct which includes a duty to act lawfully and in the best interests of our clients, ensure the services we provide are provided competently, maintain our knowledge and skills, take reasonable care in ascertaining the state of your affairs where it is relevant to the work we are completing, and take reasonable care to ensure the tax laws are applied correctly.

5. Qualifications on our services

To the extent our services involve the performance of services established by law, nothing in the engagement letter or these terms reduce our obligations under such law.

 You must not act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without first confirming with us that the advice is still valid.

Our services are limited exclusively to those you have engaged us to perform.  Unless otherwise specified in the engagement letter, our services cannot be relied upon to disclose irregularities and errors, including fraud and other illegal acts, in your affairs. Neither an audit nor a review will be conducted and, accordingly, no assurance will be expressed.

 Where our engagement is recurring, we may amend our engagement letter and these terms where we consider it is necessary or appropriate to do so.  If you do not accept such amendments, you must notify us promptly in which case you may terminate our engagement in accordance with section 18 below and those amendments will not apply prior to such termination. 

6. Reliance on advice

We will endeavour to record all advice on important matters in writing. Advice given verbally is not intended to be relied upon unless confirmed in writing. If we provide verbal advice (for example during a meeting or telephone conversation) that you wish to rely on, you must ask us to confirm the advice in writing.

7. Investment and financial advisory advice

We will not provide you with investment or financial advice regulated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) as we do not have an Australian Financial Services Licence number and therefore we are not authorised to provide such advice.

8. Professional obligations

We will comply with the professional and ethical standards of the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board, available at apesb.org.au. This includes APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including Independence Standards), which among other things contains provisions that apply if we become aware of any actual or potential ‘non-compliance with governing laws or regulations’ (NOCLAR). Where any such non-compliance poses substantial harm (such as serious adverse consequences to investors, creditors, employees, auditor, group auditor or the public), we may be required to disclose the matter to an appropriate authority.

9. Conflicts of interest

We will inform you if we become aware of any conflict of interest in our relationship with you (including between the various persons this engagement letter covers) or in our relationship with you and another client. Where conflicts are identified which cannot be managed in a way that protects your interests then we will be unable to provide further services to some or all of the persons to whom this engagement applies. If this arises, we will inform you promptly.

 We may act for other clients whose interests are not the same as or are adverse to yours, subject to the obligations of conflicts of interest and confidentiality referred to above.

10. Fees and payment

Our fees are charged on an hourly basis, with the hourly rate set based on the level of skill, responsibility, importance and value of the advice, as well as the level of risk.

Given the hours required to undertake the agreed services vary from year to year we generally do not issue an estimate of fees unless specifically requested.  Please do not hesitate to request an estimate of fees to complete the services outlined in the letter of engagement, noting the value we provide is an estimate only and our actual fees may vary.

In some cases, you may be entitled to assistance with your professional fees, particularly in relation to any investigation into your tax affairs by the ATO. Assistance may be provided through insurance policies you hold or via membership of a professional or trade body. Other than where such insurance was arranged through us, you will need to advise us of any such insurance cover that you have. You will remain liable for our fees regardless of whether all or part are to be paid by someone else.

We will generally raise invoices after completion of the services, however, in the event that the services are in progress for more than 21 days due to circumstances outside our control (such as waiting on information to complete from yourselves or third parties), we may raise an interim fee for the time incurred to date.  Our invoices are due for payment within 14 days of being issued.  Any disbursements and expenses we incur in the course of performing our services will be added to our invoices where appropriate, this includes monthly Xero software fees incurred on your behalf.

Unless otherwise agreed to the contrary, our fees do not include the costs of any counsel, or other professionals or third parties engaged with your approval.

We may charge interest on late paid invoices at the rate of 3% above the RBA cash rate. We may also suspend our services or to cease to act for you if payment of any fees is unduly delayed.

We intend to exercise these rights only where it is fair and reasonable to do so.

11. Lien

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

12. Client monies

We maintain a trust account for dealing with client monies on their behalf. We can only accept money into our trust account on your behalf if you have provided us with a written trust account authority letter which details the authority given to us in relation to that trust money.

13. Confidentiality

We will take all reasonable steps to keep your information confidential, except where:

  • we need to disclose your information to our service providers (including auditors of client monies if applicable) or regulatory bodies in performing the services, our professional advisers or insurers or as part of an external peer review from time to time. Our files may also be subject to review as part of the quality review program of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. By accepting this engagement you acknowledge that, if requested, our files relating to this engagement will be made available under this program. We will take reasonable steps to ensure any such recipient (other than a regulatory body) keeps such information confidential on the same basis;
  • we are required by law, regulation, a court of competent authority, or those professional obligations referred to in section 8 above, to disclose the information;
  • we provide limited information (but only to the extent reasonably necessary) to potential purchasers (or their professional advisors) of our practice but we will take reasonable steps to ensure that any such recipient keeps the disclosed information confidential; or
  • you give us permission to disclose the information.

From time to time, we may be asked to provide copies of the financial statements, income tax returns or other information produced in the course of this engagement.  If we are requested to provide this information (including to a third party such as a financial institution), any one person subject to this engagement can provide this authorisation, unless you instruct us otherwise. For example, if one person subject to this engagement requests information regarding the company or individuals involved then we have authority to provide this information to them without seeking further authorisation. Furthermore we will assume the authorisation to provide information to such third party(ies) continue until you advise us otherwise.

We may retain your information during and after our engagement to comply with our legal requirements or as part of our regular IT back-up and archiving practices. We will continue to hold such information confidentially.

We may mention that you are a client for promotional purposes.

14. Privacy

You must make all necessary notifications and obtain any necessary consents for us to process personal information you provide to us. We collect and use that personal information for the purposes of providing the services described in the engagement letter to you and we will comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) when processing that personal information. Our privacy policy is available on our website and provides further details of our privacy practices. 

15. Ownership of materials

We own the copyright and all other intellectual property rights in everything we create in connection with this engagement. Unless we agree otherwise, anything we create in connection with this agreement may be used by you only for the purpose for which you have engaged us.

Records & working papers

In the course of our engagement we will prepare various working papers and notes consistent with our internal quality control system. These working papers remain the property of our firm and will be retained by us to support any future queries on work completed. Original source records provided by you to us to assist in the completion of your work will be returned to you at the completion of each engagement.  Where appropriate, we may take copies to retain for our client files.

16. Limitation of liability

Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.  You agree not to bring any claim against any of our Directors, Shareholders or Employees in their personal capacity.  To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable to you for:

  • indirect, special or consequential losses or damages of any kind; or
  • liability arising due to the acts or omissions of any other person or circumstances outside our reasonable control, or your breach of these terms.

17. Limitation of third party rights

Our advice and information is for your sole use, and we accept no responsibility to any third party, unless we have expressly agreed in the engagement letter that a specified third party may rely on our work. 

18. Termination

Each of us may terminate this agreement by giving not less than 21 days’ notice in writing to the other party except where a conflict of interest has arisen, you fail to cooperate with us or we have reason to believe that you have provided us or any other person with misleading or factually inaccurate information, in which case we may terminate this agreement immediately. Termination will not affect any accrued rights.

19. Communication

You must advise of any changes to your contact details.  We may send any communications to the last contact details you have provided. Unless you instruct us otherwise we may, where appropriate, communicate with you and with third parties via email or by other electronic means. The recipient is responsible for virus checking emails and any attachments. There is a risk of non-receipt, delayed receipt, inadvertent misdirection or interception by third parties in any form of communication, whether electronic, postal or otherwise.  We are not responsible for any such matters beyond our control.

20. Applicable Law

Our engagement is governed by Queensland law.  The courts sitting in that State will have non-exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any dispute between us.

21. Interpretation

If any provision of the engagement letter or these terms is void, that provision will be severed and the remainder will continue to apply.  If there is any conflict between the engagement letter and these terms, these terms prevail.

22. Disputes and complaints

If you have any concerns about our costs or services, please speak to Tegan Duff or Corné Smit, Directors of CT Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd.  To resolve your concerns we have policies and procedures in place to deal appropriately with complaints and will use best endeavours to resolve a complaint or dispute to the mutual satisfaction of the parties involved. We may require you to detail your complaint in writing to allow us to fully investigate any concerns that you raise.

 

23. Third party responsibilities

We may utilise outsourced service providers, including:

  • SAS Super Audit Specialists, based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia providing Self-Managed Superannuation Fund Audit Services;
  • Tax Partner Pty Ltd, consultant based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia providing specialist tax advice;
  • Backoffis Pty Ltd, based in Indooroopilly, Queensland, Australia, and their associates based in India providing administration support and Self-Managed Superannuation Fund administration support; and
  • Priority 1 Technology Solutions based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia providing Computer and Information Technologies Support.

 We may utilise cloud computing service providers, including:

  • Xero Cloud Computing software, headquarters are in New Zealand. Xero client data is stored in servers located in the United States and subject to the laws of that country;
  • BGL Simple Fund 360 Cloud Computing software used to process and administer Self-Managed Superannuation Fund financial statements and the annual return. BGL is located in Brighton East, Victoria, Australia. BGL uses SugarCRM and Zendesk secured systems to store client data.  SugarCRM data is stored at BGL Group in Australia. Zendesk data is stored by Zendesk at multiple locations on the east coast of the USA;
  • NowInfinity Cloud Computing software used to manage corporate secretarial functions, including lodgement of forms with ASIC. NowInfinity is located in Bundall, Queensland, Australia, NowInfinity data is stored by a third party and some data may be stored outside of Australia, including Ukraine, Macedonia, Vietnam, Philippines, Ireland, India, United Kingdom, Japan and the Netherlands.
  • Sharepoint / Microsoft 365 used to store historical and current client data. Data is stored in Australia in Microsoft Secure Data Centres, mostly located in New South Wales and Victoria.

Further information around the storing of client data and data security can be found by visiting the third parties website and reviewing the third parties privacy policy.  Whilst we have undertaken our own review of any third parties we have engaged with and are satisfied with our findings, we recommend that you also review the terms and conditions and privacy policies of the relevant third parties.  We are happy to provide such information at your request.

To perform the services, we may provide third parties with access to your data to the extent this is required to perform the services.  You hereby authorise us and our third-party contractors to disclose information relating to your affairs to all such external IT service providers as we or our third party contractors may choose to engage. 

Furthermore, we reserve the right to employ contractors to provide some or all of the Services, and any reference to our staff includes such contractors. We will remain liable to you for any of the Services that are provided by our contractors. 

Acceptance of our services indicates your acceptance of the use of outsourced services, unless our agreement with you expressly prohibits the use of Outsourced Service Providers.

Your data will be stored in servers physically located in Australia (unless otherwise specified) and in accordance with the security practices of the third party service provider and our Privacy Policy.

 

 24. Consumer Data Rights

You may consent for an Accredited Data Recipient under the Consumer Data Right (CDR) to disclose your CDR data to us.  You may nominate us as your Trusted Adviser for this purpose.  As your Trusted Adviser, we will only access the data necessary to provide the services in this engagement letter.

 

Version 1 – 30th June 2024