TPB says tax practitioners remain accountable for AI use
Registered tax practitioners have new guidance from the Tax Practitioners Board on using artificial intelligence under the Code of Professional Conduct.
The Guidance Statement sets out how existing obligations apply when AI tools are used in practice. It highlights competence, reasonable care, confidentiality, record-keeping, professional judgement, and supervision and control.
According to the TPB, the document does not create a separate AI rulebook. Instead, it explains how current professional and ethical duties apply when practitioners use AI tools.
TPB Chair Peter de Cure AM said the regulator recognises AI’s growing role in the tax profession. “AI has the potential to increase productivity, drive efficiencies and enhance client service across the tax profession when used appropriately,” he said.
However, the Guidance Statement stresses that AI supports professional judgement rather than replacing it. Tax practitioners remain accountable for the services they provide.
That responsibility includes reviewing AI-generated outputs before they are used for client work. Practitioners must exercise professional judgement to ensure their work complies with the Code.
Key risks in the guidance include protecting confidential information, keeping proper records, and maintaining suitable supervision and control when staff use AI tools.
Reasonable care still applies as well. If an AI tool produces an error, an incomplete answer, or a misleading draft, the practitioner must identify and fix the problem.
As a result, the TPB presents AI as a tool to support tax work, not to make decisions on its own. Accountability stays with the registered practitioner.
Peter de Cure AM also said the board wants to help practitioners adopt AI responsibly while meeting the Code’s professional and ethical standards. “We want to support tax practitioners in embracing the benefits of AI with confidence, while continuing to meet the high professional and ethical standards set out in the Code,” he said.
AI and the Code webinar
Following the release, the TPB will host a webinar titled AI and the Code: What every tax practitioner needs to know.
The webinar will be held on Tuesday, 25 August, at 12 pm AEST. The TPB has encouraged tax practitioners to register.
Meanwhile, the board linked the guidance to its role as the regulator of tax practitioners. The TPB supports confidence in the tax profession and the tax system.
It also aims to assure the community that tax practitioners meet proper standards of professional and ethical conduct. That focus explains why the new guidance centres on existing duties under the Code.
