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Statement of Relevant Experience

Introduction

If you are completing certain forms published by the Tax Practitioners Board, you may be required to evidence your BAS Experience and Competency. ABN can assist with this by providing you with a Statement of Relevant Experience and Competency.

What is a Statement of Relevant experience and Competency?

From 1 January 2001 to 28 February 2010, ABN made available to its members a risk-based Quality Assurance Framework which observed the principles enunciated by the Australian Taxation Office in its former Fact Sheet entitled Guidelines for working under the direction of a registered tax agent.

The ABN risk-based Quality Assurance Framework, which was known as the BAS Wizard Partner Program, provided a means by which participating members could provide exempt BAS Services pursuant to S.251L of the Income Tax Assessment Act (1936). The BAS Wizard Partner Program was managed by ABN under the direction of Registered Tax Agents, PT Partners Accountants & Business Advisors Pty Ltd, who hold Tax Agent Number 79285001.

If you participated in the BAS Wizard Partner Program, ABN can prepare a Statement of Relevant Experience and Competency. This statement confirms:

• your participation in the BAS Wizard Partner Program;
• the period of time that you participated in the Program; and
• the volume of Activity Statements which you submitted to us for certification.

The Statement also describes the nature of the BAS Wizard Partner Program and the role played by it in providing a “working under the direction” model for bookkeepers providing BAS services under the former S.251L regime.

Click here to view a sample Statement of Relevant Experience and Competency.

For which Tax Practitioner Board Forms will an ABN Statement of Relevant Experience Be Useful?

All forms are available on the Tax Practitioners Board web site at http://www.tpb.gov.au/TPB/Subsidiary_Content/Registration_forms.aspx

Bookkeepers wishing to provide BAS Services may be applying to the Board in a number of different ways as follows.

Transitional Notification

If you are eligible to transition, you have until 31 August 2010 to notify the Board in the approved form. Notifying the Board ‘in the approved form’ requires you to complete the BAS Online Notification Form.

At Section 7, Question 7, you will be asked to specify the period of time that you have been providing BAS services, together with details thereof. An ABN Statement of Relevant Experience provides this information.

Transitional Registration

Within three years of the commencement date of the BAS Agent Laws, you may choose to apply for transitional registration under Section 14 of the Transitional Regulations. Broadly, the enables you to become registered as a BAS Agent for a period of time even though you do not meet the relevant educational requirement (i.e. Certificate IV) or experience requirements (ie. either 1400 hours or 1000 hours if a member of a Recognised Tax Agent or BAS Agent Association) as required under the Tax Agent Services Act. The period of your registration will be three years (if you did not transition) or one year (if you did).

Although under this route you do not need to demonstrate 1000 or 1400 hours, you must still append to the form evidence that you have provided BAS services to a competent standard for a reasonable period. ‘Reasonable period’ is considered to be at least 700 hours in the last two years. ‘Competent standard’ should be demonstrated via a certificate or reference from the applicant’s employer or from the tax agent of the clients for whom the work is done.

An ABN Statement of Relevant Experience provides such evidence to meet, or contribute towards meeting, your requirements in this regard.

Full Registration under the Tax Agent Services Act

One of the many requirements of this form is the need to evidence 1400 hours of relevant experience in the last three years, or 1000 hours if you are a member of a Recognised Tax Agent or BAS Agent Association.

An ABN Statement of Relevant Experience provides such evidence to meet, or contribute towards meeting, your requirements in this regard.

What is the process for obtaining a Statement?

Simply complete a Request For Statement Of Relevant Experience For BAS Agent Registration.

To obtain a statement, you must be a current ABN member.

You should allow up to seven days for ABN to produce the Statement.

What is the cost of obtaining a Statement?

The cost of this service is $55 including GST.

The preparation of each Statement requires customisation on our part, which carries with it the need to interrogate past financial year records. The $55 cost contributes to our time and cost of additional resources in attending to these requests.

Payment options are detailed on the Request form.

How Do I Convert the quantity of Activity Statements certified by ABN into hours?

However, by evidencing the volume of activity statements you have had certified by ABN, and putting forward a basis for approximating the number of hours that underlie each, you will be well placed to demonstrate your experience.

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