ELIMINATING sexual harassment in the legal profession is part of the Law Council’s long-running commitment to inclusion and diversity in the legal profession.

The recent release of the National Action Plan to Reduce Sexual Harassment in the Australian Legal Profession (NAP) heralds the start of a united and coordinated process to address the issue.

Law Council president, Pauline Wright said the NAP aimed to address the regulatory and cultural change factors necessary to facilitate better experiences for legal professionals.

“Sexual harassment is unacceptable in the legal profession and the Law Council and its Constituent Bodies are committed to its elimination,” Ms Wright said.

“One way of achieve this, is to outline specific law reform proposals as policy positions of the Law Council. 

“The NAP also includes measures that the legal profession can implement to drive cultural change,” Ms Wright said.

Recommendations include:

• Advocating for federal law reform amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SDA);
• Supporting the work of the Australian Human Rights Commission, particularly in relation to the establishment of a Workplace Sexual Harassment Councilamending the SDA, the harmonisation of federal and state and territory discrimination laws; and the establishment of education and training programs for judicial officers and tribunal members;
• Driving cultural change in the legal profession through a proposed reformulation of Rule 42 of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules; the development of national model sexual harassment policy and guidelines and a centralised source of information and suite of educational tools; the facilitation of a consistent complaints process; the consideration of bystander provisions; and supporting those who have experienced sexual harassment;
• ·Advocating for the establishment of a Federal Judicial Commission.

“The NAP and the measures proposed will not solve every problem relevant to sexual harassment,” Ms Wright said.

“It is important to note that this a living document, setting out a framework for change, the specifics of which will continue to evolve as each measure is developed.

“The NAP is just the start of a united and coordinated process that will continue to be reviewed and refined as the measures are developed and implemented in consultation with the Law Council’s constituent bodies."

WHILE THE Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has done a fantastic job in its administration of the Federal Government’s stimulus packages, a small number of entities may have wrongfully missed out. 

The report by the Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) recognised the good work of the ATO in this area but indicates some taxpayers should have been allowed to demonstrate their trading circumstances other than by lodging a BAS before March 12, 2020.

“The ATO is to be commended for its administration of the JobKeeper scheme,” Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) chief executive officer, Andrew Conway said.

“However, a small number of entities may have been denied access to JobKeeper and the cash flow boost. According to the IGTO report, certain financial supplies can satisfy the requirement to evidence business activity which is not limited to notifying the making of a supply via lodgement of a business activity statement (BAS).

“In fact, if a new business opened a business account then this would be sufficient to indicate their business activity intent.

“Accountants, as trusted advisers, should review their small business clients to ensure those that may have been eligible but denied access, are now brought to the attention of the ATO.

“It is unfortunate if some small businesses closed where they could have rightfully accessed the cash flow boost,” Mr Conway said.

www.publicaccountants.org.au

About the Institute of Public Accountants

The IPA, formed in 1923, is one of Australia’s three legally recognised professional accounting bodies. With the acquisition of the Institute of Financial Accountants in the UK, the IPA Group was formed, with more than 40,000 members and students in over 80 countries. The IPA Group is the largest SME focused accountancy organisation in the world. 

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THE Australia Financial Security Authority (AFSA) has announced Federal Gobvernment changes to bankruptcy laws that were amended in 2020 to cope with the COVID-19 economic situation.

In March 2020, the Australian Government announced a series of changes to bankruptcy law, as part of the wider economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.. The temporary changes included:

• an increase in the debt threshold, which enables creditors to apply for a bankruptcy notice;
• an increase to the timeframe for a debtor to respond to a bankruptcy notice;
• an increase to the temporary debt protection period available to debtors.

As of January 1, 2021, those temporary changes will cease, according to AFSA. An amendment has also been made to adjust the bankruptcy threshold. This means:

• the minimum amount of debt that can trigger bankruptcy is $10,000, down from $20,000;
• the amount of time an individual has to respond to a bankruptcy notice is 21 days, reduced from six months;
• temporary debt protection allows for 21 days relief from creditors, instead of six months.

Before the temporary changes were implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the minimum amount of debt that could trigger a bankruptcy was $5,000. The Federal Gvernment has amended the bankruptcy regulations to adjust the threshold for petitioning bankruptcy to $10,000 or more.

www.afsa.gov.au

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ON DECEMBER 18, the Federal Court of Australia sentenced Brisbane based Kent Scott Hacker to seven and a half months in prison. He, and his related companies, were also fined over $640,000  for multiple offences under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA).

The court granted the Tax Practitioners Board’s (TPB) request for permanent injunctions against each entity, restraining Mr Hacker, One Stop Global Staffing Pty Ltd (OSGS) and Naleview Pty Limited, from further provision of unregistered tax agent services. Mr Hacker was also restrained from providing BAS services whilst unregistered.

It is a welcome outcome after a protracted investigation and litigation, during which Mr Hacker continued to act illegally, according to the TPB.

This saga commenced when the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) raided OSGS offices in November 2018 and uncovered evidence validating ATO suspicions that Mr Hacker had been preparing and lodging tax returns for thousands of taxpayers whilst unregistered with the board. The TPB acted swiftly on the information, and by February 2019 had launched a Federal Court action against Mr Hacker and his two companies. 

During the proceedings, Mr Hacker gave an undertaking to the Federal Court that he would stop providing tax agent services to clients for a fee or other reward. Intelligence from the ATO confirmed that despite this undertaking, he continued to provide services to clients.

The TPB, concerned of the potential risk to the public, successfully sought a court order forcing Mr Hacker to display large notices at the OSGS offices warning taxpayers of the risks of using Mr Hacker’s services.

In June 2020, the Federal Court ruled that Mr Hacker and his businesses had repeatedly been in contempt of court. The court also found that Mr Hacker had contravened the TASA 45 times and his two companies 42 times.

Chair of the TPB, Ian Klug said, "The TPB will act firmly against those that act outside the law and supports the imposition of the penalties handed down to Mr Hacker and his associated companies. For nearly two years, Mr Hacker has brazenly and consistently ignored court orders and his behaviour has put his clients at risk and undermined the integrity of the taxation system. The TPB will continue to target unregistered preparers to ensure the professional and ethical standards of the tax profession is maintained.

"The sentencing, fines of over $640,000 and the imprisonment of Mr Hacker, sends a strong message to other rogue advisers and the community that illegal acts of this nature will not be tolerated."

About the Tax Practitioners Board

The TPB regulates tax practitioners in order to protect consumers. The TPB aims to assure the community that tax practitioners meet appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct. Twitter_@TPB_gov_au, LinkedIn and Facebook. 

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