Terms of Engagement & Privacy Notice

These Terms of Engagement and Privacy Notice apply when you ask Taxmatters Accountants to review your information and prepare your individual income tax return. Please read them before you accept on the final review and submit page.

1. Who we are

Taxmatters Accountants provides accounting and tax services for individuals and businesses, including individual tax returns, sole trader returns, rental property tax matters and related tax services. Taxmatters Accountants is operated by The Trustee for YMS Trust, ABN 14 309 557 258, trading as Taxmatters Accountants. For this online individual tax return engagement, tax agent services are provided by, or under the supervision of, Yoo Min Son, registered tax agent, TPB registration number 26220474. You can check the registration on the TPB public register: TPB public register

2. Purpose, scope and output of the engagement

Our standard service is limited to reviewing your online questionnaire, uploaded documents and available ATO pre-fill information, asking follow-up questions where required, preparing a draft individual income tax return, and lodging the return only after you have reviewed the prepared return and signed the required final declaration.

The output of this engagement is the preparation and lodgement of your individual income tax return for FY 2025-26, unless we separately agree to provide additional services.

Unless separately agreed in writing, our standard service does not include tax planning, financial planning, legal advice, business structuring advice, prior-year amendments, objections, disputes, audit response work, post-lodgement ATO correspondence, or complex advisory work. Complex matters may include business, trust, company, partnership, capital gains, cryptocurrency, foreign income, complex residency, or other advisory work beyond standard individual tax return preparation.

No audit, review or assurance engagement will be performed. Accordingly, no assurance will be expressed. Our engagement is not designed to detect every irregularity, fraud, illegal act, error or omission that may exist. If such matters come to our attention during our work, we will consider our professional and legal obligations and may inform you where appropriate.

The return and related work are prepared for you for the purpose of meeting your individual income tax return obligations. They should not be relied on by any third party unless we have separately agreed in writing.

3. Professional and ethical standards

We will provide tax agent services in accordance with our obligations as a registered tax agent under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), including the Code of Professional Conduct administered by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB).

We will act honestly and with integrity, exercise professional competence and reasonable care, maintain confidentiality, and consider whether continuing to act would create any threat to our professional obligations. We have a duty to act in your best interests, unless that duty is inconsistent with our duty to act in the public interest or with our legal and professional obligations.

4. Term of the engagement

This engagement starts when you tick the acceptance box and submit your questionnaire and documents through the online intake system. It ends when the agreed work is completed, we or you terminate the engagement, or we decline to proceed because the matter is outside our scope or because continuing would breach our legal or professional obligations.

This engagement applies to the FY 2025-26 individual income tax return only, unless we separately agree in writing to provide services for another year or matter.

5. Your responsibilities

Provide information that is true, correct and complete, and tell us promptly if your circumstances change.

Disclose all income relevant to your tax return, including Australian and overseas income where applicable.

Only claim deductions, offsets, rebates or credits that you are entitled to claim.

Where an expense or asset is partly private and partly income-producing, only claim the income-producing portion and keep records supporting the percentage used.

Tell us if any ATO pre-fill information is missing, incorrect or incomplete.

Provide reasonable access to information and documents we request, and respond to our questions within a reasonable time.

Review the prepared return before signing the final declaration and tell us before lodgement if anything is incorrect, incomplete or missing.

Keep appropriate records and supporting documents for as long as required by law.

You are responsible under Australia’s self-assessment system for the accuracy and completeness of your tax return. Any advice we provide is based on the information you give us and the circumstances known to us at the time.

6. Our responsibilities

We will prepare your return using the information and documents you provide, available ATO pre-fill information and our professional judgement. We may ask follow-up questions or request further documents where required.

We are not responsible for errors, penalties, interest, amendments or adjustments that arise because information provided to us was false, incomplete, misleading, inaccurate, not disclosed, or not provided in time.

We may decline to include a claim, income item, offset, rebate, credit or tax position if the information or evidence is insufficient, unclear, inconsistent, false, misleading, or inconsistent with our legal or professional obligations.

7. ATO pre-fill, self-assessment and client declaration

ATO pre-fill information may help prepare your return, but it can be incomplete, delayed or incorrect. You remain responsible for ensuring that all relevant information is disclosed, even if it does not appear in ATO pre-fill information.

Submitting your questionnaire and documents does not lodge your tax return. After we prepare your tax return, you will be asked to review the prepared return and sign the required final declaration before lodgement. We will not lodge your tax return until the required declaration has been completed and accepted.

8. Records and substantiation

You must keep records to support your income, deductions, offsets, rebates, credits and other tax return items for at least 5 years from the date your tax return is lodged, or longer where required by law. Records may include receipts, invoices, statements, contracts, annual tax statements, logbooks, diary records, calculations and other written or electronic evidence.

If the ATO reviews or audits your return, you may be required to provide records to support your claims. If adequate records are not available, the ATO may amend your return and penalties, interest or other consequences may apply.

9. Taxpayer rights, private rulings, objections and penalties

Where a tax law issue is uncertain, you may have the right to request a private ruling from the ATO. A private ruling only applies to the facts and circumstances set out in the ruling application. If the actual facts differ materially from the facts described, the ruling may not protect you.

You may also have rights to object to certain ATO decisions or appeal through relevant review processes, subject to time limits and eligibility rules. Unless separately agreed, preparing private ruling applications, objections, reviews, appeals, penalty remission requests or audit responses is outside the standard scope and additional fees will apply.

We may inform you of relevant rights, obligations, possible penalties, interest, general interest charge or other legal tax consequences that come to our attention in the course of providing the agreed service.

10. Fees, additional fees and refunds

The amount you pay at the quote/intake stage is the final fee for the income, deduction and other tax return items selected and quoted during the intake process, provided the selections and information are accurate and the matter remains within the quoted standard scope.

Additional fees may be charged if the income, deduction, offset, tax loss, residency, Medicare, private health insurance, capital gains, business, rental, foreign income or other items selected during the quoting stage are incorrect, incomplete or materially different at the final review stage, or if additional services are required.

Additional fees may also apply for complex matters, extensive follow-up, amendments, audit assistance, objection work, private ruling work, post-lodgement ATO correspondence, or work outside the standard scope. Where practical, we will notify you and obtain your acceptance before performing additional fee work.

The additional fee arrangement is based on the time required by individuals assigned to the engagement. Individual hourly rates vary according to the degree of responsibility involved and the experience and skill required. Additional fees are generally expected to be approximately $50 to $500 plus GST, depending on the work required.

Role

Hourly charge rate

Principal tax agent

$150.00 per hour plus GST

Tax agents

$100.00 per hour plus GST

We may require payment before lodgement. If an invoice remains unpaid, we may pause work, decline to lodge the tax return, or take reasonable steps to recover outstanding amounts. Fees remain payable for work performed even if your refund is lower than expected, you have tax payable, you choose not to lodge after work has commenced, or the ATO changes the assessment after lodgement, unless otherwise agreed in writing or required by law.

Refunds, if any, will be considered having regard to the work performed, the stage of the engagement, any applicable consumer law requirements and any written agreement between you and us.

Payment collection, platform fee and commercial arrangement

Fees for this engagement are collected at the quote/intake stage through the TaxReturn77 online platform, which is operated by Brighton AI Holdings Pty Ltd (ABN 67 692 023 135) ("Brighton AI"), with card payments processed by Stripe (see section 12). Payments are made to Taxmatters Accountants, and your card statement will generally show Taxmatters Accountants as the merchant for these payments.

From each fee collected, a platform service fee is payable to Brighton AI as its consideration for operating the online intake platform (including the online questionnaire, client onboarding, document collection and payment facilitation), and we receive a tax agent fee for the tax agent services provided under this engagement, determined under an agreed fee schedule that varies according to the category and complexity of your return. This arrangement is between Taxmatters Accountants and Brighton AI. It does not change the total price quoted to you, and no additional amount is payable by you because of it.

Brighton AI is not a registered tax agent and does not provide tax agent services. All tax agent services under this engagement are provided by, or under the supervision of, our registered tax agent as described in section 1. This commercial arrangement does not affect our independent professional judgement, or our duties to you, as your registered tax agent.

Where your matter is classified as an individual review (ticket) case, the review ticket fee you pay is credited toward the final quoted fee, so the total amount you pay does not exceed the final quoted fee.

Where a refund of fees is payable to you, it will normally be processed back to your original payment method through the same payment platform.

11. Tax refunds and client money

Unless separately agreed, any tax refund should be paid directly by the ATO to your nominated bank account. If we receive or hold money on your behalf, we will deal with it in accordance with applicable tax agent obligations and any written authority you provide. We do not deduct our fees from your tax refund.

12. Identity verification, third-party systems and confidentiality

We may need to verify your identity before providing tax agent services. We may request identity information, use verification systems, or record that identity checks have been completed. We will take reasonable steps to minimise unnecessary collection and retention of identity documents.

Where practical, we will record that identity checks have been completed rather than retaining copies of identity documents, unless retention is required or appropriate for legal, professional or risk-management reasons.

To provide our services, we may use third-party systems and service providers for online intake, client onboarding, document collection, identity verification, data storage, workflow management, electronic signatures, tax software, cloud hosting, payment processing, email, SMS and administrative support.

You authorise us to disclose your information to these third-party systems and service providers where reasonably necessary to provide our services, manage our practice, comply with the law, or communicate with you. We will take reasonable steps to ensure client information is handled appropriately. We may also be required or permitted by law to disclose information to the ATO, TPB, Services Australia, courts, professional bodies or other regulators.

Your information is primarily stored and hosted in Australia. Some of our third-party providers, including cloud, software, hosting or support providers, may store, process or access your information. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled appropriately. Countries or regions where your information may be stored or accessed may include Australia and the United States (the latter where certain service providers process data on our behalf).

Material third-party systems and service providers:

• Brighton AI — online intake platform (customer-facing online questionnaire, client onboarding, document collection)
• Google Cloud Platform / Firebase (Google LLC) — application hosting, database and document/file storage (hosted in Australia), and AI-assisted document processing (Google Gemini)
• Google (Gmail) — email delivery
• Stripe — payment processing
• Twilio — SMS verification
• Lodge iT Pty Ltd (LodgeiT) — tax lodgement software
• Xero Limited (Xero) — accounting software

Support and administrative access to your information is performed from Australia.

13. Privacy Collection Notice

We collect personal information, including your name, date of birth, contact details, Tax File Number, identity information, bank account details, spouse/dependant and family information, Medicare and private health insurance information, visa/residency information, income and deduction information, tax return documents and uploaded files.

Tax File Number information will be collected, used, stored and disclosed only where necessary for tax agent services, identity verification, legal compliance or as otherwise authorised by law.

We collect this information to verify your identity, assess your tax return requirements, prepare and lodge your return, communicate with you, manage billing, maintain proper records, and meet our legal, tax agent, ATO, TPB, privacy and professional obligations. Some of this information may be sensitive information.

We may collect information directly from you through online questionnaires, uploaded documents, email, phone, SMS, electronic forms, portals, electronic signature systems and other communication methods. We may also collect information from the ATO, government agencies, employers, banks, health funds, superannuation funds, managed funds, brokers, insurers, prior accountants or other third parties where authorised or permitted.

We use and disclose your information for the purposes described in this notice and as otherwise authorised or required by law. If you do not provide the requested information, we may be unable to prepare or lodge your return or include certain claims.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. However, no online system or electronic communication method can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You may contact us to request access to, or correction of, personal information we hold about you. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. If you have a concern about how we handle your personal information, please contact us first using the complaints contact below. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

Privacy enquiries and complaints may be sent to: info@tmcpa.au

14. Electronic communication

You agree that we may communicate with you by email, SMS, phone, online portal, electronic signature system or other electronic method. Electronic communication carries some risk, including delay, non-delivery, unauthorised access, interception, technical error or viruses. Please notify us promptly if your contact details change.

15. Ownership of documents and working papers

Original documents you provide remain your property. We may keep copies of documents and information reasonably required for our professional, legal, tax, insurance, quality control, audit and record-keeping purposes.

The completed individual income tax return and documents prepared for lodgement belong to you once issued to you, subject to payment of our fees and any applicable legal requirements. Our internal working papers, file notes, review notes, checklists, calculations, internal correspondence and methodologies remain the property of Taxmatters Accountants, unless otherwise required by law.

16. Confidentiality and quality review

We have professional and legal confidentiality obligations. We will not disclose your confidential information except with your consent, where reasonably necessary to provide the services, where permitted or required by law, to third-party service providers described in these terms, or to regulators/professional bodies where required or permitted.

If our engagement files are reviewed as part of a professional body quality review, practice review, insurance review, legal compliance review or similar process, your information may be made available to the reviewer subject to confidentiality obligations.

17. Professional indemnity insurance and limitation of liability

We maintain professional indemnity insurance arrangements as required for registered tax agents. Details can be provided on request where appropriate.

To the extent permitted by law, our work is provided only to you and for the purpose described in this engagement. We are not responsible for loss suffered by third parties who rely on our work without our written agreement. Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified.

18. NOCLAR, false or misleading information and withdrawal

If we identify or suspect non-compliance with laws or regulations, false or misleading information, fraud, evasion, illegal activity or conduct that would breach our legal or professional obligations, we may take appropriate steps. These may include asking further questions, requesting documents, declining to include a claim or position, correcting a statement, withdrawing from the engagement, or making disclosures where required or permitted by law.

Where appropriate and permitted, we will seek to discuss the matter with you before taking further action. However, in some circumstances we may be required or permitted to act without prior notice.

19. ATO review, audit, amendment or objection

The ATO may review, verify or audit your tax return after lodgement. Unless separately agreed, our engagement does not include responding to ATO reviews, audits, objections, amendments, penalty remissions or other post-lodgement matters. If you ask us to assist with such matters, this will be a separate service and additional fees may apply.

20. TPB register, complaints and prescribed matters

The Tax Practitioners Board maintains a public register of registered tax and BAS agents. You can check the registration of Yoo Min Son, TPB registration number 26220474, here: TPB public register

If you have a complaint about our tax agent services, please contact us first using the practice complaints contact below. You may also make a complaint to the TPB through the TPB website.

Practice complaints contact: info@tmcpa.au

TPB complaints information: https://www.tpb.gov.au/complaints

We are required to keep clients informed about certain matters, including the TPB public register, complaint processes, rights and obligations, and prescribed events or prescribed matters where applicable. As at the date of these terms, based on our internal checks and the TPB public register, we are not aware of any prescribed events, prescribed matters or registration conditions that we are required to disclose to you.

21. Termination

We may stop acting for you if required information or documents are not provided, information appears false, misleading or incomplete, payment is not made, the matter is outside our service scope, or continuing to act would breach our legal or professional obligations. You may also end the engagement at any time by notifying us.

If the engagement ends after work has commenced, fees may remain payable for work already performed and reasonable costs incurred.

22. Acceptance

By ticking the acceptance box and submitting your questionnaire and documents on the final review and submit page, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms of Engagement and this Privacy Notice. You also authorise Taxmatters Accountants to use the submitted information and documents to review your circumstances and prepare your individual income tax return for FY 2025-26.