Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of these Terms

These Terms & Conditions (the “Terms”) set out the general basis on which Tax7 Accountants (“Tax7”, “we”, “us”, “our”) provides tax agent and related services to clients (“you”, “your”). They apply when you engage us, when you continue to instruct us, and when you use this website at www.tax7.com.au.

For each engagement we will also issue an engagement letter (also called a letter of engagement, or “LOE”). The engagement letter and these Terms are intended to be read together. Where they conflict for the specific engagement, the engagement letter prevails (see clause 4).

By instructing us to provide a service, or by continuing to use our services after these Terms have been updated, you agree to be bound by these Terms as in force at that time.

2. About Us

Professional Status and Designations

Professional status and designations: Tax7 Pty Ltd (ACN 602 477 010) as trustee for the Tax7 Trust (ABN 95 507 557 877) is a registered tax agent (Tax Agent Number 24869192) and is regulated by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth). Tax7 is not a chartered accounting firm and is not a CPA public-practice firm; the firm does not hold, and does not represent that it holds, a Certificate of Public Practice or any equivalent public-practice certificate, and makes no representation of any sponsorship, approval or affiliation with CA ANZ, CPA Australia or any other professional body. Any professional designation that may appear in connection with a named individual reflects that individual’s personal membership only and is not a representation about the firm.

3. Our Services

We provide tax agent and related accounting services to individuals, sole traders, partnerships, companies, trusts and self-managed superannuation funds. Depending on the engagement, our services may include:

• Individual income tax returns, including rental property and capital gains tax
• Business income tax returns (sole traders, partnerships, companies, trusts)
• Business Activity Statements (BAS) and Instalment Activity Statements (IAS)
• Bookkeeping, reconciliation and payroll services
• Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) accounting and tax
• Business cleanup, back-year returns and ATO compliance assistance
• Tax planning, structuring advice and general tax consulting
• ATO correspondence, objections and liaison on your behalf

The exact scope, deliverables and fee for each engagement are set out in the engagement letter we issue before we begin work. Anything not in your engagement letter is out of scope until we agree otherwise in writing.

4. Engagement Letter Precedence

For every engagement we issue an engagement letter that sets out the scope, deliverables, fees, timing and any engagement-specific terms. The engagement letter takes precedence over these Terms for that engagement to the extent of any inconsistency.

These Terms apply to all matters not addressed in the engagement letter, and apply where you instruct us in the absence of a signed engagement letter (for example, ad-hoc advice or a recurring annual return). If you are unsure which document applies to a particular issue, please ask us.

Scope of Services and No Reliance on Inferred Status

Scope of services and no reliance on inferred status: Tax7 provides tax agent services and related accounting and bookkeeping services in its capacity as a registered tax agent. Our services are provided on the basis described in our engagement letter, which prevails over any general statement on this website. You acknowledge that you have not engaged Tax7 on the basis of, and should not rely on any inference that, the firm holds any professional-body public-practice certificate or carries any Chartered Accountants or CPA firm status. If anything in our materials is unclear as to our professional status, the position stated in the Professional status and designations clause and in your engagement letter governs.

5. Code of Professional Conduct

As a registered tax agent, we are bound by the 14 items of the Code of Professional Conduct in section 30-10 of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) (“TASA”). In summary, we must act honestly and with integrity, comply with the taxation laws in our own affairs, account for client money, act in your best interests, manage conflicts of interest, keep your information confidential, act competently, take reasonable care to ascertain your circumstances and apply the law correctly, advise you of your rights and obligations, maintain professional indemnity insurance, and cooperate with the TPB.

In addition, the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 imposes eight further obligations on us. In plain English, we must:

• Uphold ethical standards (s 10) – not engage in conduct that undermines public trust in the tax system or tax profession.
• Not make false or misleading statements (s 15) – we cannot make, prepare or direct a statement to the ATO, TPB or any government agency that we know, or ought reasonably to know, is materially false or misleading; if we identify one, we must take steps to correct it.
• Manage government-agency conflicts (s 20 & s 25) – identify, document and manage conflicts of interest where we do work for a government agency.
• Maintain confidentiality with government (s 30) – not use information received from a government agency for any client’s or our own advantage.
• Keep proper client records (s 35) – keep records that show the nature, scope and outcome of services provided to you, for at least 5 years.
• Supervise people who work on your matter (s 40) – ensure staff and contractors who provide services on our behalf are properly supervised and competent.
• Operate a quality-management system (s 40) – maintain documented policies and procedures designed to give reasonable confidence of Code compliance.
• Keep you informed (s 45) – tell you about matters that materially affect our ability to provide services to you (see clause 6 below).

The Determination’s additional obligations apply to firms of our size from 1 July 2025, and we comply with them from that date.

6. Keeping You Informed (s 45 of the Determination)

We are required to keep you informed about the following matters. As at the “last reviewed” date at the top of this page:

If any of the above changes, we will update this page promptly and, where the change is material, notify affected clients in writing.

7. Safe Harbour Protections

Section 284-75(6) of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) (the “safe harbour”) can protect you – not us – from administrative penalty if a statement made in your tax return turns out to be false or misleading. The safe harbour is only available if all of the following are true:

• you engage a registered tax or BAS agent (such as us);
• you give the registered agent all the information that is relevant to the statement – not only what you think is relevant;
• the registered agent makes the statement; and
• the false or misleading nature of the statement did not result from intentional disregard or recklessness by the agent.

To benefit from the safe harbour, you must give us all relevant information, on time, and respond to our questions promptly. We commit to acting with reasonable care; you commit to full and accurate disclosure.

8. Fees, Disbursements & Billing

Our fees are agreed in your engagement letter and may be charged on a fixed-fee, hourly, or other basis. Unless otherwise stated:

• GST: fees quoted to individuals are typically GST-inclusive; fees quoted to businesses are typically quoted as “plus GST”. Your engagement letter will state which applies.
• Out of scope work: any work beyond the scope of your engagement letter will be discussed and agreed in writing before we start it, and charged at our standard hourly rates current at that time.
• Disbursements: reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (e.g. ASIC fees, search fees, courier costs) are payable in addition to our fees and will be itemised on your invoice.
• Invoicing: we invoice on completion of each engagement, or on a recurring cycle for ongoing engagements (e.g. monthly bookkeeping).
• Payment terms: invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date unless your engagement letter says otherwise.
• Overdue accounts: we may charge interest on overdue accounts at a commercially reasonable rate and may suspend further work until your account is brought up to date.
• Lien on our work product: to the extent permitted by the TPB’s guidance, we may retain a particular lien over our own work product (not your original source records) where fees remain unpaid. We will not exercise that lien in a way that prevents you from meeting a lodgement obligation, and we will return your own records to you on request.

Quotes are valid for 30 days from the date of issue. We will tell you if we need to revise a quote because the scope or your circumstances change.

9. Your Responsibilities

Our work depends on what you give us. To allow us to do our job and to give you the benefit of the safe harbour, you agree to:

• provide complete, accurate and up-to-date information and source documents;
• respond to our questions and requests for information promptly;
• sign engagement letters, authorities, declarations and lodgement documents on time;
• notify us promptly of any change in your circumstances (address, contact details, marital status, dependants, business structure, ATO correspondence received, etc.) that may affect our work;
• review every return, statement or document before it is lodged on your behalf where you are required by law to do so;
• keep your own copies of your source records (you remain legally responsible for keeping records of your income and deductions for at least 5 years – see clause 14); and
• tell us as soon as you become aware that anything we have lodged is incorrect, so that we can take steps to correct it.

10. Confidentiality

We treat your information as confidential and will not disclose it to a third party without your consent, except where we are required or permitted to do so. By engaging us, you authorise us to disclose your information:

• where required by law (for example, to the Australian Taxation Office, the Tax Practitioners Board, ASIC, AUSTRAC, or a court);
• to our staff, contractors and supervised representatives in the ordinary course of providing your services;
• to our professional advisers (including our auditor, lawyer, insurer and professional indemnity broker) where reasonably necessary;
• to the third-party software, cloud-hosting and AI service providers we use to deliver the service (see clauses 11 and 12, and our Privacy Notice);
• to a successor tax agent if you appoint one and direct us to release information; and
• to the extent reasonably necessary to defend a claim or complaint made against us.

11. Outsourcing & Third-Party Processors

We use third-party providers to help us deliver our services. These include cloud accounting (such as Xero), document storage and collaboration tools, our secure client portal hosted on Fedix.ai, and AI assistance for drafting, classification and reconciliation. Some of these providers store or process data outside Australia.

The full categories, named providers and storage jurisdictions are set out in our Privacy Notice. We carry out due diligence on the security and privacy practices of providers we engage and remain professionally responsible for the services provided to you.

Your consent to the use of these providers is sought in your engagement letter. If you do not consent to overseas processing, please tell us in writing before we begin work so we can consider whether we can still provide the service on that basis.

AML/CTF Tranche 2 (from 1 July 2026): from 1 July 2026, we are a reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) Tranche 2 expansion; we will collect, verify and retain identity information consistent with our obligations, and where required we will disclose information to AUSTRAC. See our Privacy Notice for the categories of identity information we collect for this purpose and how we handle it.

12. Use of Artificial Intelligence

We use AI and machine-learning tools to assist with drafting, summarising, classifying, reconciling and processing information related to your engagement. AI helps us work faster and catch deductions and discrepancies we might otherwise miss – but it is never the final word.

All AI processing is subject to the safeguards in our Privacy Notice, including: (a) a human-in-the-loop review by a registered tax agent (or a person under the supervision of a registered tax agent) before any material decision; (b) contractual commitments from our AI vendors not to use your data to train their general-purpose models; and (c) the ability for you to opt out of AI processing on request to your engagement partner.

We remain professionally responsible for every return, statement or piece of advice we provide to you. AI output is not a substitute for the judgement of the registered tax agent responsible for your engagement.

13. Email & Electronic Communications

Our default channel for client data is our secure Fedix Client Portal. If you must email us, please only use our firm address [email protected] – we cannot accept or act on instructions sent to personal email addresses of our staff.

You and we both acknowledge that neither of us has control over the performance, reliability, availability or security of email. To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for emails that are intercepted, delayed, corrupted or lost in transit, or for any consequence of you sending sensitive information by an unsecured channel.

14. Records & Retention

We keep records of the tax agent services we provide to you for at least 5 years after the service is provided, as required by section 35 of the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 and section 262A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth).

Your source records (originals or copies you give us for the purpose of providing the service) remain your property. You are entitled to a copy of work products we have prepared for you on request, and (subject to the lien in clause 8) after our fees for that work have been paid. We may charge a reasonable fee for collating and providing records on transfer.

15. Limitation of Liability

Australian Consumer Law: nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy that you have under the Australian Consumer Law or any other law that cannot be lawfully excluded.

Professional indemnity insurance: we maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the requirements of the Tax Practitioners Board under section 30-10(13) of TASA.

Professional Standards Scheme: Tax7 does not participate in a Professional Standards Scheme approved under the Professional Standards Act 1994 (NSW). Accordingly, our liability is not capped by any such scheme; it is determined under the general law, subject to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law (which contains rights you cannot contract out of) and any other non-excludable statutory rights.

Exclusion of indirect loss: to the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable to you for any indirect, consequential, special, incidental or punitive loss, or for any loss of profits, revenue, business opportunity, goodwill, or data, arising out of or in connection with our services.

Other limits: we are not responsible for penalties or interest arising from your delay in providing information, signing documents or paying tax, or for the consequences of incomplete or inaccurate information you give us, or for changes in tax law or ATO interpretation after we complete our work.

16. Intellectual Property

We retain all intellectual property rights (including copyright) in the work products, templates, models, checklists, tools and systems we use or create in providing services to you. On payment of our fees for the relevant engagement, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the work products we deliver to you for the purpose for which they were prepared.

You retain all rights in the source records and information you give us. The Tax7 name, logo and brand assets are our trade marks and may not be used without our written consent.

17. Termination & Disengagement

Either of us may terminate an engagement at any time on reasonable written notice. We may terminate immediately for cause, including (without limitation) where you have failed to pay our fees, provided false or misleading information, instructed us to do something that would breach our Code obligations, or where the relationship of trust has broken down.

On termination, fees for work performed up to the date of termination remain payable. We will issue a disengagement letter confirming the end of our engagement and the matters that remain outstanding.

You are entitled to transfer your affairs to another registered tax practitioner. On payment of any outstanding fees, we will cooperate with an orderly handover, return your source records, and (subject to the lien in clause 8) provide reasonable assistance to your successor agent. We may charge a reasonable fee for collating records for transfer.

18. Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service, please raise it with us first so we can try to resolve it quickly.

• Internal complaints: contact our Privacy Officer / Complaints Officer at [email protected] or phone 1300 166 777. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to respond substantively within 30 days.
• Tax agent conduct – Tax Practitioners Board: you may also complain to the TPB at any time at tpb.gov.au/complaints, by calling 1300 362 829, or by writing to GPO Box 1620, Sydney NSW 2001.
• Privacy – Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: if your complaint is about how we handled your personal information and you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the OAIC at oaic.gov.au or by calling 1300 363 992.

You are not required to come to us first, but doing so often produces the fastest outcome.

19. Privacy

The way we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information is set out in our Privacy Notice. The Privacy Notice forms part of our agreement with you and explains how we comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, the TFN Rule 2015, and our confidentiality obligations under TASA.

20. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales. You and we submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that State and the Federal Court of Australia.

21. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version will always be posted at www.tax7.com.au/terms-of-service, with the “last reviewed” date at the top. You will be taken to accept any updated Terms by continuing to instruct us after they are posted. Where a change is material, we will also notify affected clients in writing.

22. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us: