Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 15 September 2026 and is now law.
Stricter rules have been introduced by this Act for tax practitioners, changes to the foreign resident CGT and withholding rules, and other tax and charitable giving measures.
- Schedule 1: Gives the Tax Practitioners Board stronger regulatory and enforcement powers, including higher civil penalties, enforceable undertakings and infringement notices. It also creates new criminal offences for certain unregistered tax agents and BAS agents who provide or advertise these services.
- Schedule 2: Strengthens and clarifies the foreign resident CGT rules by expanding the scope of taxable Australian real property, changing the principal asset test to apply over 365 days, and introducing notification needs for some high-value transactions involving foreign residents.
- Schedule 3: Offers a transitional 50% CGT discount for eligible foreign residents disposing of certain Australian renewable energy assets until 30 June 2040.
- Schedule 6: Adds 3 entities to the list of specifically deductible gift recipients, extends the period of listing for two existing DGRs and updates the name of one listed entity.
- Schedule 7: Renames Public Ancillary Funds and Private Ancillary Funds as Public Giving Funds and Private Giving Funds, respectively.
- Schedule 8: Allows taxpayers to claim a credit for amounts withheld under the foreign resident CGT withholding rules in the same income year in which the underlying transaction is recognised for tax purposes, provided the withheld amount has been paid to the Commissioner.