Disclaimer
The content of this website is intended for general information purposes only. You should always seek professional advice before acting. No responsibility is taken for any loss as a result of any action taken or refrained from in consequence of its contents.
We do not accept any liability for the content or performance of any third party website accessed through this website, nor endorse or approve the contents of any such site.
We do not give any warranty that this website is free from viruses or anything else which may have a harmful effect on any technology.
Copyright notice
The material contained in this website, including text and graphics, and all software compilations, underlying source code and software (including applets) is under copyright. All rights are reserved. None of this material may be reproduced or redistributed without our written permission. You may, however, download or print a single copy for your own non-commercial off-line viewing.
Engagement Disclosures
As a Registered Tax Agent, our work for you is performed in accordance with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009. Under this Act, the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 requires that we make the following disclosures to you:
Matters that could significantly influence your decision to engage us (or continue to engage us) for a Tax Agent Service. Baker Accounting Solutions have not had any significant matters to disclose and we can confirm the following:
No prior material breaches of the Act;
No current or former investigations by the Tax Practitioners Board;
No sanctions imposed by the Tax Practitioners Board;
No conditions applied to its tax agent registration; and
No use of disqualified entities.
The Tax Practitioner’s Board maintains a register of Tax Agents and BAS Agents. You can access and search this register here: https://www.tpb.gov.au/public-register
If you have a complaint about our Tax Agent services, you will need to contact Baker Accounting Solutions in the first instance with details by email. Your complaint will be investigated by the partner Balinda Baker.
We will provide you with email acknowledgement of receipt of your complaint and our understanding of the circumstances. The email will inform you that we will attempt to resolve your complaint within 14 days and will outline the dispute resolution process. If you are unhappy with the outcome that we propose to you, you can then make a complaint to the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) using the link listed above. The TPB will send you an email to acknowledge the receipt of your complaint and review and risk assess your complaint. If you are unhappy with how the TPB has dealt with your complaint, the above link includes details about your review rights and who can further assist you.
Privacy Policy
Baker Accounting Solutions (ABN 68 969 343 509) (BAS) is a Chartered Accountancy practice based in New South Wales.
In this policy / notice:
• “we”, “us” or “our” means BAS.
• “you” includes all individuals, any entity and any person who holds office of, or a beneficial interest in, an entity or trust.
This policy explains what we collect and how we handle your personal information. It also acts as a collection notice for the purpose of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).
We collect personal information about you so that we can provide accounting, taxation and related professional services, and so that we can meet the legal and regulatory obligations that apply to our practice.
We collect and hold information to meet obligations under taxation law administered by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) and the requirements of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB), the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015 (TFN Rule), and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) and its associated rules and regulations (AML / CTF Law).
1. What we collect
We only collect personal information that we reasonably need to provide our services and to meet our professional obligations, including compliance with any AML / CTF Law. Depending on the work you ask us to do, what we collect may include:
• Your name, contact details, date of birth, place of birth, occupation, and residential or business address.
• Identification documents and their numbers, such as your driver licence, passport or Medicare card, which we collect to verify your identity.
• Information about your political affiliations and any other information to determine whether you are a politically exposed person
• Your tax file number (TFN), Australian Business Number (ABN) and Director ID. We explain how we handle your TFN further below.
• Financial information we need for your work, such as income, expenses, assets, liabilities, bank account details, superannuation, and your accounting and tax records.
• For companies, trusts and partnerships, details of directors, trustees, partners, shareholders and beneficial owners including obtaining copies of the entity’s constituent documents and / or information from public sources, including from Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
• Information about the source of your funds or wealth, where a transaction or engagement calls for it.
• Records of our dealings with you, including your instructions and our correspondence.
Some of this may be ‘sensitive’ information. We only collect sensitive information where it is necessary and with your consent or where we are required or authorised by law.
2. How we collect information
We will collect personal information about you:
• directly (in-person, via phone, email etc)
• from people you authorise to instruct us or act on your behalf;
• from your other advisers, such as a previous accountant, financial planner, solicitor or bank, where you have asked us to work with them;
• from third parties such as ASIC, Australian Business Register (ABR), Document Verification Service (DVS), service providers, internet publications or the ATO; and
• from the identity documents provided, verification of identity platforms and screening providers we use to confirm your identity.
If you give us personal information about another person, such as a family member, business partner or employee, please make sure they know we have their information and are given access to read this notice.
3. Why we collect your information
We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information to:
• contact you;
• provide the accounting, taxation, advisory and related services you engage us for, and act on your instructions;
• verify your identity and complying with our obligations under AML / CTF Law;
• prepare and lodge returns, statements and other documents, and deal with the ATO, ASIC and other authorities on your behalf;
• administer our engagement, including billing, and manage our practice; and
• meet our professional, legal and regulatory obligations.
We will only use or disclose your personal information for another purpose where you would reasonably expect us to and where you have consented or where the law authorises or requires it.
4. Your Tax File Number
We handle your TFN pursuant to the TFN Rule issued under the Privacy Act
We are a “TFN recipient” under the TFN Rule and authorised to request your TFN. We collect your TFN to prepare and lodge your income tax returns and activity statements, to deal with the ATO on your behalf, and to attend to related taxation and superannuation matters. What this means for you:
• Giving us your TFN is voluntary and it is not an offence to decline. Without it though, the ATO may require tax to be withheld from certain payments at the highest rate, and we may not be able to lodge some documents for you or complete your work efficiently.
• We use and disclose your TFN only for lawful taxation, superannuation and related purposes. We do not use it as a general way to identify you, and we do not disclose it except where taxation law allows or requires.
• We take reasonable steps to protect your TFN from misuse and unauthorised access, whether we hold it on paper or electronically, and we securely destroy or de-identify it once we are no longer required to keep it.
We will not request you to provide any TFN or Director ID via email. We request all TFNs and Director IDs (if applicable) be provided to us either in person or verbally (over the phone).
5. Verifying your identity
To confirm who you are, we may verify your identity documents. We use a DVS accessed via a third-party gateway, which is administered by Attorney-General’s Department, together with other third party identity verification platforms. The DVS checks the details on a document you give us (such as your name, date of birth and document number) against the record held by the agency that issued it. It will advise us whether the information you provided matches the official record. By providing your information and agreeing to our privacy notice (or any third party notice issued on our behalf), you authorise us to verify your identity in this way. We keep a copy of your identity documents and the results of these checks.
6. AML / CTF Law
From 1 July 2026, we are a reporting entity for the purposes of the AML / CTF Law.
To comply with our obligations under the AML / CTF Law, we are required to:
• collect and verify information about you, anyone who instructs us or acts on your behalf, and the beneficial owners of any company, trust or other entity involved;
• understand the nature and purpose of the work you have engaged us to provide; and
• where relevant, ask about the source of your funds or wealth and other information required for us to conduct customer due diligence.
Our obligations under the AML / CTF Law apply to both new and existing clients and we have an obligation to collect and verify certain personal information about you before certain services are provided (or continued). It is a regulatory requirement rather than a reflection on you or your affairs. We may ask for further information as the engagement continues, and you agree to keep the information you give us accurate and up to date.
Please also note:
• The law requires us to report certain matters, including any suspicious transactions or activity, to AUSTRAC without notifying you.
• If you decline to provide the information we need, or we cannot verify it, or we suspect the information provided is false or misleading, we may be unable to act for you and may have to delay, suspend or terminate our engagement.
We do not provide advice on whether or not any service you provide falls under the AML/CTF Law or your obligations (if any) under it.
7. How we may use and disclose personal information
We may use or disclose your personal information for:
· the primary purpose for which it was collected – whether disclosed in this policy / notice or otherwise;
· any related secondary purpose, if the use or disclosure could reasonably be expected by you and the secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose of collection (or directly related where the information is sensitive);
· as otherwise authorised or required by law; or
· with your consent.
We may share or disclose information collected from you to:
• the ATO, ASIC, AUSTRAC, the Tax Practitioners Board and other government, regulatory and law enforcement bodies;
• identity verification, screening and regulatory-technology third party providers who help us meet our due diligence and AML / CTF Law obligations;
• our professional advisers, insurers, auditors, related entities or industry body;
• software, data hosting and administrative service providers that support our practice, including cloud-based accounting and document systems such as Xero Practice Manager;
• banks and financial institutions, and other parties you authorise us to deal with;
• organisations that help identify illegal activities and prevent fraud; and/or
• other entities or third parties with your consent or as permitted or required by law or court/tribunal order.
Some of the providers we use store or process information outside Australia or have operations overseas. Where that happens, your personal information may be disclosed to, or accessible from, recipients in countries including New Zealand.
The third parties will collect, store and share information about you and so you should read the privacy policies of the third parties.
We will not sell your personal information to any third parties for marketing purposes without your consent.
8. Keeping your information secure
We store information in physical and electronic / digital form.
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Those steps include secure systems and access controls / monitoring over our information technology systems and databases.
Whilst we take reasonable steps to secure your data, you need to be vigilant about the protection of your own personal information when using the internet and other transmission methods.
Generally, we will keep your records for a minimum of seven (7) years after our work for you is finished. This period reflects our obligations under taxation law and the AML / CTF Law. We may, at our discretion if it is reasonably necessary or where required by law, keep your personal information for more than seven (7) years.
Once we are no longer required to keep your information, we take reasonable steps to destroy it securely or to remove the details that identify you.
9. Accessing and updating your information
You can ask us for a copy of the personal information we have collected which is about you. You can ask us to correct or update the information if it is wrong, out of date or incomplete. Please make your request to our Privacy Officer using the details below.
Keeping your information accurate helps us give you the right advice, so please tell us whenever your details change.
10. If you do not provide your information
If you decline to consent to the use of DVS and / or the collection and use of your information as disclosed by us (whether that purpose is disclosed in this policy / notice or otherwise), we may be unable to provide you with the services in which you have engaged us and may need to suspend work or terminate our engagement.
11. How to contact us
Protecting your information is part of how we look after you as a client. If anything here is unclear, please ask us:
Baker Accounting Solutions
1 Dargin Close, Singleton Heights NSW 2330
Phone: 0408 027 082