Standard Terms & Conditions – Tax & Accounting Services

1. Our obligations

A) DPM will perform the Services described in our engagement letter with due care, competence and diligence in accordance with the obligations of the Tax Practitioners Board including to:

• • act honestly and with integrity
  • uphold and promote the ethical standards of the tax profession
  • act lawfully in your best interests
  • manage any conflicts of interest
  • take reasonable care to ascertain your state of affairs and apply tax laws correctly
  • keep your information confidential unless there is a legal duty to disclose
  • provide services competently
  • not knowingly obstruct the administration of the tax laws
  • advise you of your rights and obligations under the tax laws

B) We will provide you with professional accounting services in compliance with APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including Independence Standards).

2. Your obligations

A) You agree to provide us promptly with all information, instructions and access to third parties we reasonably require to perform the Services.

B) You agree that we are entitled to rely on the accuracy of the information that is provided to us without independently verifying it, except to the extent we have expressly agreed to do so as part of the Services we will perform.

C) You agree that the performance of the Services by us depends on you also performing your obligations under this agreement. You agree that we are not liable for any default that arises because you do not fulfil your obligations.

D) You are responsible for the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, particulars and information provided and disclosure of all material and relevant information. You are required to arrange for reasonable access by us to relevant individuals and documents and shall be responsible for both the completeness and accuracy of the information supplied to us.  Any advice given is only an opinion based on our knowledge of your particular circumstances.

E) You must advise of any changes to your contact details. We may send any communications to the last contact details you have provided.

3. Ownership of Documents

A) All original documents obtained arising from the engagement shall remain your property. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable number of copies of the original documents for our records.

B) Our engagement will result in the production of income tax returns or financial statements. Ownership of these documents will vest in you.  All other documents produced by us in respect of this engagement will remain the property of the firm.

4. Limitation of third party rights

Our advice and information is for your sole use, and we accept no responsibility to any third party, unless we have expressly agreed in the engagement letter that a specified third party may rely on our work. 

5. Privacy

A) You can obtain a copy of Doquile Perrett Meade’s privacy policy form from our website: dpm.com.au/privacy-policy. Doquile Perrett Meade’s privacy policy will be reviewed and updated from time to time to ensure that it complies with the law and our client’s rights to privacy are protected.  Accordingly, we recommend that you read Doquile Perrett Meade’s Privacy Policy from time to time it to ensure that you understand your rights in relation to your personal information.

B) We wish to draw your attention to our firm’s system of quality control which has been established and maintained in accordance with the relevant APESB standard. As a result, our files may be subject to review as part of the quality control review program of CPA Australia which monitors compliance with professional standards by its members.  We advise you that by accepting our engagement you acknowledge that, if requested, our files relating to this engagement will be made available under this program.  Should this occur, we will advise you.

C) You agree to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 when providing us with information.

6. Know your customer

We may be required to verify your identity for the purposes of the anti-money laundering laws. We may request from you such information as we require for these purposes and make searches of appropriate databases.

7. Disclosure of Interests in Related Parties

A) Doquile Perrett Meade is part of the Doquile Perrett Meade Group. The group provides a holistic range of services for the management of client affairs.  The services include:

• • Tax planning, structuring and compliance;
  • Financial planning;
  • Personal insurance;
  • Finance;
  • Bookkeeping services.

B) In advising we could refer you to a related party within the Doquile Perrett Meade Group. They include but are not limited to:

• • Doquile Perrett Meade Certified Practising Accountants;
  • Doquile Perrett Meade Financial Services Ltd, and;
  • Doquile Perrett Meade Lending Pty Ltd

8. Fees and expenses

A) Our fees will be charged on the basis set out in the engagement letter and have been set based on the level of skill, responsibility, importance and value of the advice, as well as the level of risk.

B) If we have provided you with an estimate of our fees for any specific work, this is an estimate only and our actual fees may vary.

C) We may provide a fixed fee for the provision of specific services. If it becomes apparent to us, due to unforeseen circumstances, that a fixed fee is inadequate, we may notify you of a revised figure and seek your agreement to it.

D) In some cases, you may be entitled to assistance with your professional fees, particularly in relation to any investigation into your tax affairs by the ATO. Assistance may be provided through insurance policies you hold or via membership of a professional or trade body. Other than where such insurance was arranged through us, you will need to advise us of any such insurance cover that you have. You will remain liable for our fees regardless of whether all or part are to be paid by someone else.

E) You agree to pay us for the Services we perform on the basis set out in our engagement letter, plus any GST that we are required to pay in connection with the Services.

F) You agree to pay any reasonable expenses we incur in connection with us providing the Services, plus GST at the prevailing rate (where applicable).

G) You agree to pay fees and expenses within 14 days of the date of our invoice, as per our payment terms contained herein. We reserve the right to perform no further work for you until all outstanding accounts are paid in full.

H) To the extent that you do not pay our fees within 14 days and we are required to engage third party/ legal assistance in collecting unpaid debts, you agree to pay any costs incurred by us in doing so in addition to our outstanding fees

I) We revise our hourly rates every twelve months and we may increase our fee for any work performed more than 12 months from the commencement of our engagement.

9. Confidentiality

A) We agree not to disclose each other’s confidential information except for disclosures required by law.

B) You agree that we may act for your competitors or for other clients whose interests are or may be opposed to you, subject to our duty of confidentiality.

C) You agree that we may refer to you and the nature of the services we have performed for you when marketing our services, provided we do not disclose your confidential information.

10. Conflicts of interest

A) We will inform you if we become aware of any conflict of interest in our relationship with you or in our relationship with you and another client.

B) Where conflicts are identified which cannot be managed in a way that protects your interests then we will be unable to provide further services to some or all of the persons to whom our engagement applies. If this arises, we will inform you promptly.

11. Third party involvement

A) We may from time to time engage third party specialists, where warranted, to obtain the advice you need or to assist us to provide our service to you. These may include outsourced service providers.

B) We may employ outsourcing arrangements in places including but not limited to the Philippines and Vietnam, during our work to provide your accounting services. To perform the services, we may provide these third parties with access to your data to the extent this is required to perform the services. Your data will be stored in servers physically located in Australia (unless otherwise specified) and in accordance with the security practices of DPM, the third party service provider and our Privacy Policy.

C) Accepting of our services indicates acceptance of third-party involvement.

12. Breach reporting

A) From 1 July 2024, additional breach reporting obligations apply to all registered tax practitioners under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). These obligations require you to report ‘significant breaches’ of the Code of Professional Conduct (Code) in the TASA:

• • relating to your own conduct, and
  • by other registered tax practitioners.

B) The reporting obligation is triggered if you have reasonable grounds to believe a breach of the Code has occurred on or after 1 July 2024, and the breach is significant.

C) DPM has implemented a framework that complies in full with all requirements and will publish relevant details of any breaches in a breach register, publicly available on our website at dpm.com.au/breach-register.

13. Intellectual property rights

We own the copyright and all other intellectual property rights in everything that we create in relation to the Services we perform. Unless we agree otherwise, what we create may be used by you only in respect of the Services we perform.

14. Liability

A) Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Further information on the scheme is available from the Professional Standards Councils’ website: https://www.psc.gov.au.

B) The scope of our work may fall within the CPA Australia Ltd Professional Standards (Accountants) Scheme (Scheme), which facilitates improvements to industry professional standards and protects consumers. If you want more information on the Scheme you can go to CPA Australia’s Professional Standards Scheme.

C) We hold professional indemnity insurance of at least the minimum amount prescribed in the professional bodies bylaws or as required by law.

15. Electronic communications

We each agree to take reasonable steps to protect our own electronic information systems including implementing steps to protect against viruses and unauthorised access, use, loss or delay of electronic communications.

16. Termination and Lien

A) Either of us may terminate this agreement by giving the other at least 14 days’ notice in writing.

B) We may terminate this agreement by notice in writing if you do not pay our bills when due or do not provide us with adequate instructions or information to enable us to perform the Services.

C) We reserve the right to hold a professional lien over any and all records and documentation until all outstanding fees have been paid.

17. Register of Tax Agents and BAS agents

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) maintains a register with details of registered, suspended and deregistered tax and BAS agents.  This register is available to the public to search at https://www.tpb.gov.au/public-register.

18. Governing law

Unless our engagement letter states otherwise, the governing law applicable to this agreement is the law of Victoria, Australia. Both of us submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Victoria.

19. Dispute resolution

If there is a dispute relating to this agreement or the Services, you agree to meet with us to attempt to resolve it. If the dispute is not resolved through these attempts, we each agree that we will both attempt to resolve the dispute through mediation before commencing legal proceedings.

20. Assignment

This agreement may not be assigned without the prior written consent of each party.

21. Relationship

We will provide the Services under this agreement as an independent contractor. You agree that we are not in a partnership, joint venture, fiduciary, employment or other relationship with you. No party has the right, power or authority to oblige.