1Purpose and scope of the engagement
This engagement is between you and KK Accountants Pty Ltd, trading as Hamro Accountant.
We are engaged to prepare and lodge your individual income tax return for the financial year or financial years selected in your online submission. Unless we agree otherwise, the engagement may continue for future annual individual tax returns.
The standard engagement covers preparation and lodgment of your individual income tax return using the information and documents you provide. It does not automatically include audits, objections, investigations, complex written advice, tax planning, business returns, BAS, bookkeeping or other services unless separately agreed.
2When the engagement starts and ends
The engagement starts when you accept these terms in the online form or continue to instruct us after receiving them.
It continues until either you or we end it. You may end the engagement at any time by notifying us in writing. We may also end or suspend the engagement where information is not provided, fees remain unpaid, identity cannot be verified, a conflict cannot be managed, or continuing would breach our legal or professional obligations.
3Responsibilities and obligations
You must provide all information relevant to preparing and lodging your return, including accurate and complete details of income, deductions, assets, capital gains events and other taxation matters.
You are responsible for providing information promptly, checking its accuracy and keeping the records and substantiation required under Australia’s self-assessment system. We do not perform an audit of every document you provide.
Work required because information was supplied late, incorrectly or incompletely is outside the standard scope and may be charged separately.
If we become aware that a statement made to the ATO or TPB may be materially false, incorrect or misleading, we may advise you to correct it. If it is not corrected within a reasonable period, we may withdraw from the engagement or take any other step required by law or professional standards.
4Ownership and retention of documents
Your completed income tax return and any original documents you provide remain your property. Our internal working papers, checklists, calculations and drafts remain the property of KK Accountants Pty Ltd.
We retain records relating to the tax-agent services we provide for at least five years, or longer where required by law or reasonably necessary for an ongoing tax matter.
To the extent permitted by law, we may retain copies of relevant records or working papers while fees connected with the engagement remain outstanding.
5Fees, expenses and payment
Our services are provided on a fee-for-service basis. The online tax-return form calculates an estimated service fee from the financial years, income categories, deductions and complexity options selected by you.
Upfront payment is optional. You may pay when submitting the form or submit first and pay after we review the information and confirm the applicable fee. Where you state that payment has already been made, we may require proof of payment.
If the actual work is materially different from the selections made in the form, we will explain the change and provide a revised estimate before undertaking substantial additional work.
The standard fee does not include ATO audits, reviews, investigations, objections or other work outside preparation and lodgment of the selected return.
6Additional services
The standard fee covers preparation and lodgment of the agreed individual tax return and the usual checking and forwarding of relevant assessment or payment notices.
Any additional advice or service—including tax planning, amendments, audit assistance, objection work, business accounting or reconstruction of incomplete records—will be treated as a separate service and quoted or agreed separately.
7Complaints and dispute resolution
If you have a concern about our service, please contact us first so that we can investigate and attempt to resolve it.
Email: info@hamroaccountant.com.au
8Confidentiality
We have legal and professional duties to keep information obtained through this engagement confidential.
We will not disclose information relating to your affairs without your permission unless disclosure is required or authorised by law, is made to a professional or regulatory body as required, is necessary to provide the agreed service through an authorised provider, or is reasonably necessary to protect our lawful professional interests.
9Use of third-party service providers
We may use carefully selected third-party and cloud-based providers to operate our practice and deliver services. These may include website hosting, WordPress services, Google services used for security and email, document storage, accounting systems and tax-preparation software.
By accepting this engagement, you authorise us to disclose information to those providers where reasonably necessary to provide the agreed service. Where work is outsourced or supported by a provider, we remain responsible for the tax-agent services delivered to you.
10Non-compliance with laws and regulations
If we identify conduct that may constitute material non-compliance with a law or regulation, professional standards may require us to follow a formal process.
That process may include discussing the matter with you, recommending corrective action, obtaining legal or professional advice, withdrawing from the engagement or making a disclosure to an appropriate authority where required.
11Losses arising from unauthorised cyber activity
We take reasonable precautions to protect information during collection, transmission and storage, including secure website connections, restricted access and encryption where used by our systems.
No online system can be guaranteed to eliminate every risk. To the extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for loss caused solely by unauthorised third-party intervention that defeats reasonable safeguards despite our taking appropriate precautions.
You must also take reasonable care to protect your email account, devices, passwords and any correspondence or payment instructions you receive.
12Conflicts of interest
We will notify you if we become aware of a conflict of interest relevant to the engagement.
Where a conflict can be appropriately managed, we will explain the proposed safeguards. If it cannot be managed consistently with your interests and our professional obligations, we will discuss the appropriate course of action, which may include declining or ending the affected service.
13Professional indemnity insurance
As a registered tax-agent practice, we are required to maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the applicable requirements. Further details may be provided on request.
14Limitation of liability
Nothing in this engagement excludes any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Where applicable, our liability may be limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
15Authority for ATO digital communications
Where you appoint or authorise us as your registered tax agent, you agree that relevant ATO communications may be sent digitally to us as your agent.
This may include communications relating to income tax, superannuation, study or training support loans, activity statements, debts and employer or business obligations where relevant to the agreed service.
You authorise us to update or withdraw the preferred address for service where reasonably necessary to manage the engagement and your ATO communication preferences.
16Prescribed events and registration conditions
We will notify you of any prescribed event or condition attached to our tax-agent registration that we are required by law or professional standards to disclose.
Our current registration details can be verified through the official Tax Practitioners Board public register.
Acknowledgement
By accepting these terms in the tax-return form, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this engagement and that you understand your rights and responsibilities under the taxation laws.
Continuing to instruct us after receiving these terms will also be treated as acceptance of the engagement.
KK Accountants Pty Ltd
Trading as Hamro Accountant