Anyone charging to prepare or lodge your tax return in Australia must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board, and the register is public and searchable. Check registration first, then match the accountant's specialisation to your situation, confirm the fee basis in writing, and agree who is responsible for what.
Choosing an accountant is easier than it looks, because the important check is a public register and takes about a minute. The harder part is matching the right kind of accountant to your situation, since the profession covers work as different as a personal tax return and a company audit. This guide covers how to find and assess the service. It contains no product information and recommends no firm.
The check that matters most
Anyone who prepares or lodges a tax return for a fee in Australia must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board. The board keeps a public register showing:
- whether a person or firm is registered, and as what;
- the registration number and status;
- any conditions attached to the registration;
- any sanctions or terminations.
There are three registration types worth distinguishing: tax agent (income tax and broad tax services), BAS agent (activity statements and related obligations), and tax (financial) adviser arrangements for tax advice given alongside financial advice. Someone registered as a BAS agent is not authorised to do the full scope of tax agent work.
Registration is the legal test. Everything else below is about fit.
What the professional letters mean
You will see CA, CPA and IPA after names, denoting membership of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia, and the Institute of Public Accountants. Each requires an accredited qualification, supervised experience and continuing professional education, and each binds members to a code of conduct with its own complaints process.
They are a signal of professional standing. They are not the same as Tax Practitioners Board registration, and neither replaces the other. A well-credentialled accountant who is not registered still cannot charge you to lodge a return.
Matching the accountant to the work
Accounting is not one service. The main division for individuals and small businesses:
| Your situation | What you are looking for |
|---|---|
| Salary income, few deductions | A registered tax agent doing individual returns |
| Rental property, shares, capital gains | An agent experienced in investment and capital gains work |
| Sole trader or small company | A business accountant handling activity statements, payroll and year-end accounts |
| Trust or self-managed superannuation fund | A specialist; these carry specific compliance and audit requirements |
| Foreign income or residency questions | Someone who does international tax regularly, not occasionally |
The last row deserves emphasis for anyone who has moved to or from Australia. Residency for tax purposes, foreign income and double-tax agreements are a distinct specialisation, and general practice experience does not cover it.
How accountants charge
Fee models are more varied than in some professions.
- Fixed fee per return or per engagement. Common for individual returns and predictable business work.
- Hourly. Common for advisory work, restructures and one-off problems.
- Monthly retainer or package. Common for small business, bundling bookkeeping, activity statements and year-end work.
Whichever applies, ask for it in writing before work begins, along with what falls outside it. The most common source of an unexpected bill is work that was genuinely necessary but genuinely not included: correcting prior-year returns, responding to an Australian Taxation Office review, or untangling records that arrived incomplete.
Questions worth asking
- What is your Tax Practitioners Board registration number and type?
- How many clients like me do you handle, in my specific situation?
- Who will do the work, and who reviews it?
- What is the fee, what is included, and what is charged separately?
- What do you need from me, in what format, and by when?
- How do you communicate, and what response time should I expect in busy periods?
- What happens if the Australian Taxation Office queries the return?
Deadlines and what an agent changes
Individuals lodging their own return work to the standard due date published by the Australian Taxation Office. Being on a registered agent's client list before that date can give access to the agent's lodgement programme, which generally allows more time. The practical point is that this depends on being registered as their client in advance, so approaching an accountant after the ordinary deadline does not retrospectively create the extension.
Your responsibility does not transfer
Engaging an accountant does not move responsibility for your return away from you. You are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of what you provide. Using a registered agent does bring safe-harbour provisions into play in certain circumstances where a penalty arose from the agent's failure rather than yours, which is one concrete reason registration matters beyond the legal requirement.
Why there is no recommendation here
Tradergy publishes no rankings or picks for professional services. Fit depends on your circumstances and on a working relationship that no published list can judge. The two public sources above, the Tax Practitioners Board register and the Australian Taxation Office, are the ones that actually settle questions of authorisation and obligation.
Where to look next
- How to find a financial adviser - the same approach, different register.
- How to find a mortgage broker - service-framed, no product picks.
- How offset accounts work - where a tax question commonly arises.
- Stamp duty calculator - one of the figures an accountant is often asked about.
General information about how to find and check an accountant. Not tax or financial advice and not a recommendation of any accountant or firm. Tradergy keeps no account and collects no personal data. Reviewed by the Tradergy editorial team, September 2026.
Common questions
How do I check an accountant is registered in Australia?
Search the Tax Practitioners Board register. Anyone providing tax agent services for a fee must be registered, and the register shows their registration status, type and any conditions or sanctions. Registration is separate from membership of a professional body.
What is the difference between CA, CPA and IPA?
They are memberships of three professional accounting bodies, each requiring qualifications, experience and continuing education. They indicate professional standing. They are not a substitute for registration with the Tax Practitioners Board, which is what legally permits charging for tax work.
Do I need an accountant if my tax is simple?
Many people lodge their own return through myTax without one. An accountant becomes more useful where there is a business, rental property, capital gains, foreign income, a trust or a company involved, or where a past return needs correcting.
Am I still responsible for my tax return if an accountant prepares it?
Yes. You remain responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for the return itself. Using a registered tax agent does give access to safe-harbour provisions in some circumstances where the agent was at fault.