If your are engaging with a Tax Agent for the first time or moving your existing engagement to another practitioner, it is important to be aware that the TPB (Tax Practitioners Board) mandates that all registered tax practitioners take appropriate steps to verify the identity of new clients and their representatives before providing tax agent and BAS services, and continue to do so as needed. Specifically, when an individual represents a client (whether an individual or non-individual) in engaging a tax practitioner, the practitioner must verify both the representative’s identity and their authority to act on the client’s behalf. Registered tax practitioners must, at a minimum, follow the verification procedures outlined in table below. Source TPB(PN) 5/2022.

Scenario	Required information	Required evidence to be sighted
Individual seeking to engage the registered tax practitioner in their own right	The Individual’s full name and either residential address; or date of birth	An original or certified copy of a primary photographic identification document, or both of the following: an original or certified copy of a primary non-photographic identification document; and an original or certified copy of a secondary identification document.
Individual representative seeking to engage the registered tax practitioner on behalf of a non-individual client	The individual representative’s full name and either: residential address; or date of birth; and The non-individual client’s full name and either: Australian Business Number (ABN); Australian Company Number (ACN); or any other additional detail in order to make a reasonable assessment of the legitimacy of the non-individual’s identity; and authority of the individual representative to engage the registered tax practitioner on behalf of the non-individual client.	For the individual representative, an original or certified copy of a primary photographic identification document, or both of the following: an original or certified copy of a primary non-photographic identification document; and an original or certified copy of a secondary identification document. For the non-individual client, documentation or data that verifies the existence of the non-individual client; and a legal document demonstrating the authority of the individual representative to engage the registered tax practitioner

Based on TPB(PN) 5/2022 Proof of identity requirements for client verification. Please visit TPB website for complete details.

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