Terms of Engagement – Accounting and Tax Returns

Our Client Service Approach

Our commitment to you is paramount.

We take our responsibilities and duties seriously and will always aim to:

be accessible and available when you need us;
return your calls and reply to your emails or letters promptly;
provide information and advice on a timely basis; and
keep you informed about the progress of your matters.

Your Engagement

This engagement pertains to the preparation and lodgement of your personal income tax return for the relevant financial year, as specified in the accompanying engagement letter.

This engagement does not extend to any other tax-related services, such as business tax returns, financial planning, or other entities not specified in the engagement letter. Separate engagement letters will be issued for any additional services required.

Term of Engagement

You have engaged us to provide the services outlined in this document. Upon acceptance, you will be subject to and bound by these terms.

This engagement will commence upon our receipt of your signed acceptance and will continue until it is terminated, amended, or superseded. In relation to recurring engagements, these terms should be reviewed annually to ensure they remain relevant.

Purpose, Scope and Output of the Engagement

We have agreed to perform the following services for you. This work will be conducted in accordance with relevant professional and ethical standards, including the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA).

Personal Income Tax Return

Preparation and electronic lodgement of your personal income tax return with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Preparation of an estimate of tax payable or refundable based on the information provided.
Maintenance of work papers to support tax positions claimed in your return.

General ATO Dealings

Communication with the ATO on your behalf concerning your personal income tax matters.
Should a review, audit, or request for information arise, this will be considered an additional service.

Our services are limited to the scope above and cannot be relied upon to disclose irregularities, including fraud or other illegal acts.

Limitations of Our Services

Our engagement is strictly limited to the services detailed above. For the avoidance of doubt, the following services are expressly excluded from our scope:

Previous Tax Returns

We are not engaged to review the accuracy of any previous tax returns lodged by yourself or a previous Tax Agent.

Audit and Assurance Services

Our work does not constitute an audit or review in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards.

Financial Product Advice

We are not licensed to provide, and will not provide, financial product advice under the Corporations Act 2001. This includes any advice regarding investments, superannuation or financial planning. You should consult your financial adviser at Newhaven Wealth for such advice.

Legal Advice

We do not provide legal advice. This includes, but is not limited to, advice on estate planning, trusts or other legal matters. You should consult a qualified legal practitioner for these matters.

Relative Responsibilities

Our Responsibilities

We will provide the taxation services in accordance with the TASA, including the Code of Professional Conduct, and relevant professional standards such as APES 110 and APES 220.
We have a duty to act lawfully and in your best interests, subject to our overriding duty to comply with the law.
We will ensure the tax agent services are provided competently and maintain the relevant knowledge and skills to do so.
We will take reasonable care in ascertaining your state of affairs and to ensure taxation laws are applied correctly.
If we identify or suspect Non-Compliance with Laws or Regulations (NOCLAR), we have a professional and ethical responsibility to address the matter, which may include disclosure to an appropriate authority.

Your Responsibilities and Rights

By accepting these terms, you acknowledge that you are responsible for the full and free disclosure of all relevant information to us. You understand that we will rely on the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide to us to perform the services under this engagement. Any failure on your part to provide timely, accurate, and complete information may impact our ability to meet deadlines and could have legal consequences, for which we will not be held liable.
You have an obligation under the self-assessment regime to keep full and proper records to facilitate the preparation of accurate returns. These records must be retained for at least five years.
You authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate for information 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.
To benefit from the "safe harbour" provisions from certain administrative penalties, you must provide us with "all relevant taxation information" in a timely and accurate manner.
You have the right to seek a private ruling from the ATO and to object to or appeal against an assessment. We will keep you informed of any specific rights and obligations that may arise.

Specific Engagement Matters

ATO Pre-Fill Reports

To facilitate the preparation of your tax return, we retrieve pre-fill reports from the ATO containing available

data. While these reports can be a helpful reference, they may not include all relevant information at the time of lodgement. Therefore, they should not be relied upon as a complete record of your financial details.

We kindly remind you to provide us with comprehensive and accurate documentation to ensure compliance.

The information in pre-fill reports is compiled from third-party submissions, such as those from your employer or financial institution, and may be subject to delays. If assessable income is omitted during the preparation of your return, the ATO may cross-reference your submission and issue amendments at a later date. Should these amendments result in additional tax liabilities, the ATO may impose retrospective interest and/or penalties on the outstanding amount.

Common oversights include unreported bank interest or additional PAYG payment summaries. While such omissions are often unintentional, it is critical to disclose all income sources accurately during the preparation of your tax return to avoid potential penalties or unexpected financial obligations.

Oral Advice

Oral advice that is not confirmed by us in writing is our preliminary view and is not to be relied upon. 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.

Financial Advice

Our communications may contain information or advice on taxation matters, but they do not constitute financial product advice. Grange Park Consultants is not licensed to provide financial product advice under the Corporations Act 2001. You should consider seeking advice from your financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

Administrative Terms

Fees and Charges

Our standard fee schedule is detailed below:

Grange Park Consultants –Professional Fee Rates Accounting and Returns

Personal Tax Return – simple $220 - $260
Capital Gains Tax Schedule $100 plus
Rental Property Schedule – per property $160 plus
Business Schedule $250 plus
Complex Individual, partnership, and other returns $250 per hour
Consulting – tax strategy and planning, corporate structure $400 per hour

Accounting - general $250 per hour

Please Note

GST: All prices listed above are inclusive of GST.
Complex Returns: Our fees are based on the time required to complete your return. While we endeavour to adhere to the prices listed, we reserve the right to increase our fee for more complex financial situations (such as having international transactions). Please refer to your client engagement letter for further information.
Pricing for Couples: The additional fees above apply to jointly owned assets. Assets owned separately by each individual will be charged separately.

Should it become apparent that the fixed fee is inadequate due to unforeseen complexities or changes in scope, we will notify you of a revised figure and seek your agreement to it before proceeding.

For any services not covered by a fixed fee agreement, our charges will be based on the time and degree of skill, responsibility, and complexity required. The nature and complexity of the task will determine the level of professional staff engaged to carry out the services.

Unless stated otherwise in writing, any fee estimate we provide for out-of-scope work is indicative only and not a binding quote. Our invoices may also include disbursements, which are out-of-pocket expenses incurred on your behalf (such as ASIC fees, courier charges, and government fees), and will be charged at cost.

Terms of Payment

Our invoices are due and payable within 7 days of the issue date. We reserve the right to charge interest on late-paid invoices at a rate of 10% per annum, calculated daily. You agree to pay any and all costs incurred by us in recovering any outstanding fees, including legal and debt collection expenses on a full indemnity basis.

Unless other terms have been agreed, payment must be received before your tax return will be lodged with the Australian Taxation Office. Any tax refund will be paid directly by the ATO into the bank account you provide to us. We do not deduct our fees from your tax refund nor do we hold refunds on behalf of clients.

Additional Services

The scope of our engagement is strictly limited to the services detailed above. Any fee we agree upon applies only to those services. Any additional services or advice you request (for example, tax planning or responding to audits or detailed inquiries from the ATO) are outside this scope and will be charged as an additional service. These additional services will be charged based on the time and degree of skill and acumen required to complete the task undertaken by us. Where practicable, we will advise you of the fee for these services before commencement.

You will be asked to approve an estimate for any additional work before it is commenced, and we may require an upfront payment for such services.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

We confirm that our firm holds professional indemnity insurance cover that is adequate and complies with the minimum requirements of the Tax Practitioners Board. Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Further information on the scheme is available from the Professional Standards Councils' website: www.psc.gov.au.

Ownership of Documents and Right of Lien

All original documents you provide remain your property. All other documents, such as working papers, draft documents, and general ledgers created by us, remain our property at all times. We reserve the right to exercise a legal right of lien over any client documents and data in our possession in the event of a dispute or until all outstanding fees are paid in full. In the event of a dispute over any unpaid fees, we will work with you to resolve the matter in accordance with the dispute resolution process outlined in this agreement.

Confidentiality

In conducting this engagement, information we acquire is subject to strict confidentiality requirements under our professional standards and the law. Information will not be disclosed to other parties except as required or allowed for by law, or with your express consent. Our files may be subject to a quality control review program by professional bodies, and by accepting this engagement, you acknowledge this possibility.

Electronic Communication

Unless you instruct otherwise, we may communicate with you via electronic means. We are not responsible for any unauthorised copying, interception, or delivery failure of electronic transmissions beyond our reasonable control. While we use anti-virus software, we cannot guarantee that transmissions will be free from infection.

Privacy

We are committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles when handling personal information. The personal information we collect is for the purpose of providing our professional services to you. You agree to work with us to ensure we both meet our respective privacy obligations. Our full Privacy Policy is available on our website and contains information about how you can access your personal information or make a complaint.

Third-Party Involvement

To provide our services to you in an efficient and cost-effective manner, we may use third-party service providers, including cloud computing and outsourced service providers.

Your data may be stored on secure cloud servers provided by third parties, which may be located on servers outside Australia.

Your acceptance of these terms constitutes your consent to these arrangements

Complaints and Dispute Resolution

If you have any concerns about our services, please contact our office in the first instance. We will work with you to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. If you are not satisfied with how we handle your complaint, you may escalate the matter to the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). Complaints to the TPB must be made in writing via its online form at www.tpb.gov.au/complaints.

Statutory Disclosures and Client Rights.

Our Registration and the TPB Register

Bruce Stockdale is a registered tax agent.

As required by the Tax Agent Services Act 2009, we advise that you verify our registration details on the public register maintained by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). Our registration number is 2573 9775. You can access the register at www.tpb.gov.au/public-register.

Disclosure of Prescribed Events and Registration Conditions

As required by the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024, we must advise you of certain matters.

Registration Conditions: There are no conditions attached to our registration.
Prescribed Events: We advise there are currently no prescribed events that we are required to report to you.

Correction of False or Misleading Statements

If we become aware that a statement we made to the ATO on your behalf was false or misleading in a material way, we have a professional obligation to advise you to correct it. If after a reasonable time you do not take corrective action, we may be required to take further steps, which could include withdrawing from the engagement and notifying the ATO or TPB about the matter.

Your Rights and Obligations Under Taxation Law

As a registered tax agent, we are bound by the TASA Code of Professional Conduct. This requires us to act with honesty and integrity, act lawfully in your best interests, maintain the confidentiality of your information, and provide services competently.

You have the right to receive competent service and to be advised of your rights and obligations under taxation law, including the right to object to an assessment