Testimonials

I commenced at the James Cook University (JCU) Tax Clinic as a student volunteer in March 2023. I also completed the Work Integrated Learning Professional Internship subject with the clinic. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the clinic, gaining valuable experience supporting clients with tax matters. Consequently, I will continue volunteering in 2024.

Working at the clinic allowed practical experience with concepts like GST and CGT. Seeing these applied to real-life cases assisted with my understanding. The clinic offers a peer learning environment, providing a space to meet and interact with students from different degrees.

Student volunteers are supported by experienced accountants to assist vulnerable members of the community to meet their tax obligations and assist with liaising with the ATO. Majority of the clients are individuals, sole traders, and small businesses from diverse backgrounds. Support includes anything from assisting with basic tax returns for the current financial year to complex matters involving CGT, BAS lodgments and outstanding returns spanning over several years. A bonus of the clinic is the feel-good moments. Clients are so grateful when the burden of tax-related concerns are lifted after submitting their outstanding returns.

In 2023, we travelled 90kms south to Ayr, a rural town which is the centre of a sugarcane-growing region. Each year the clinic makes this trip to support regional community members who are unable to be supported online.

As a mature aged student with over 20 years working experience, I required an internship that would improve my skills and professional development. The Practice Coordinator, Kerrie Mellick, created a placement plan tailored to my individual needs. This was done by allowing me to be innovative, offering good learning opportunities and trusting me with more complex clients. This allowed me to utilise, and improve, skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication. I supported clients with completing paper returns, creating income and expense spreadsheet template and updating/finalising bookkeeping.

I was given the opportunity to research the issues, liaise with the client and be part of the solution.

Personally, due to the exposure of real-life tax scenarios and learning experiences at the clinic, I now have the confidence to complete my own tax return.

I would recommend any student to volunteer at the JCU Tax Clinic or apply for an internship when completing Taxation Law. The experience gained at the clinic is invaluable and I look forward to joining the team again this year.

After completing my 12-week internship at Griffith Tax Clinic, I can’t help but ponder one of the 6 questions in my Reflective Diary Entry: ‘What is the role of the tax clinic in the legal system, its purpose, priorities, and culture, etc?’

The tax clinic at Griffith University is a valuable service that plays an important role in our legal system. The tax clinic offers valuable services, providing free, confidential, and independent legal tax advice to vulnerable individuals and small business owners. It helps them understand their tax rights and obligations, resolving disputes with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). By doing so, the tax clinic contributes to the fairness and efficiency of the tax system and supports the social and economic well-being of the community.

One of the main purposes of the tax clinic is to assist clients who have tax-related issues or questions. Most of the clients we encountered during the internship were diverse people, and each one of them faced a unique and challenging circumstance since most of them had little tax knowledge. Being a volunteer tax agent, you must be patient, keen on details, and able to think critically, gathering more information and ideas on how complex their tax situations were, and what kind of assistance they needed.

With our mentor’s guidance on how to help in a simple and practical solution to their problem, and how to prevent this situation from happening again in the future. We met them in person or online and worked collaboratively with them to ensure that they understood their options and the potential outcome of their decision to comply with the ATO.

As a volunteer tax agent, I learned to be patient, detail-oriented, and critical in assessing complex tax situations. Collaborating with clients, both in person and online, allowed us to explore practical solutions and ensure compliance with the ATO. Additionally, the clinic serves as a bridge between classroom knowledge and real-world tax scenarios for students like me. Of course, with further explanation and more examples given by our mentors in applying the tax law and regulation to the client, this not only increased my understanding but also strengthened my confidence when it comes to tax issues.

The Griffith Tax Clinic prioritises working closely and professionally with our clients, who have various tax-related issues or questions. This allows us to collaborate with the client, hone our skills, and gain more practical experience in taxation. The Griffith Tax Clinic’s culture is to share tax knowledge, and provide, and support those who need to settle their tax affairs professionally. As volunteer tax agents, we gain this practical experience while contributing to the community. Thank you, Griffith Tax Clinic (Dr. Brett, Dr. Melissa, Mr. Colin, Ms. Miranda, and Tuesday group Emily, Jordan, Quan, Tebrez, and May).

Clinics play a crucial role in making a significant difference in people's lives by providing essential support particularly for those who may face challenges whether it be financial or otherwise in navigating the complexities of the tax system in Australia.

Peter, an elderly taxpayer and former small business owner, faced a total of 52 charges under the Tax Administration Act 1953 for failing to lodge income tax returns and Business Activity Statements over a 13-year period. 

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) referred Peter to the Curtin Tax Clinic (CTC) for assistance.

The CTC assisted Peter in getting his tax affairs up to date so the tax returns and Business Activity Statements could be lodged prior to his court appearances to show his compliance with the prosecution notices.

The records provided by Peter were all contained in several shopping bags and suitcases. The CTC students sorted through these records painstakingly to extract and analyse the relevant information, prepared worksheets and ultimately prepared financial statements, Business Activity Statements and tax returns for Peter.

Peter was represented in his court appearances by a pro-bono legal firm associated with the CTC. The administrative penalties that could have been imposed was more than $200,000 but due to the work of the CTC and the legal representation he received, he was fined a much smaller amount.

The lodgment of the outstanding returns and Business Activity Statements created a very significant debt for Peter, whose only source of income at that stage was the age pension and he did not have any significant assets. To assist Peter further, the CTC lodged a financial hardship application on Peter’s behalf which was successful and relieved a lot of stress that Peter was experiencing at that time.

Whilst working with Peter it was discovered he had some lost superannuation and the CTC was able to assist in claiming back on his behalf.

Peter was extremely grateful for the work undertaken by the CTC and the outcomes that were achieved on his behalf which meant that he is now able to get on with living without the enormous stress of those prosecution charges and tax debt hanging over him.

Preparing students for success in the tax profession.

It has been a privilege to be part of the National Tax Clinics program since 2019. One of the objectives of the program is to give students experience in providing tax services under the supervision of a tax professional and prepare them for their eventual entry into the tax profession and improve their chances of success in it. Students participate in University of South Australia (UniSA) Tax Clinic after completing an undergraduate or post-graduate foundational tax course of which I am the subject coordinator.

Students are often excited, but also a bit apprehensive, to participate in the clinic. They are concerned about making a mistake or not knowing what to say to clients. Despite these fears, students report that their experience was overwhelmingly positive and that they did not realise at the outset how much they would experience and learn. From an educator’s perspective, it is tremendously satisfying to see students grow and build confidence.

Students’ participating in tax clinics is about more than applying tax law taught in the classroom to real life situations, although that is certainly an important element. The clinic exposes students to various lodgment deadlines for various forms, all the ATO communication, the due dates for payments and the logistics of getting client work completed and lodged. Students see the difficulties that many people face in understanding the law and completing their tax thereby giving them a special appreciation for the needs of vulnerable people in the community. They develop patience and non-judgmental verbal communication skills to respectfully manage clients through these difficulties. A major adjustment for the students is the requirement to utilise non-academic writing to complete working papers as evidence of work performed and to ensure that other staff members can continue any given job with the assistance of clear notes on the job to date. Through this, students learn the importance of note taking and determining what is important in notes and working papers.

In the tax profession, many technical tax issues are routine and deciding what to do is well established. However, some client issues require further research and discussion regarding what the law says and how to apply it. At UniSA Tax Clinic, we see special issues regarding, for example, what is a taxable supply under the goods and services tax, the meaning of income for income tax, the meaning of personal services income or whether a loss or outgoing is incurred in producing assessable income. This builds students’ research and logical reasoning skills and prepares them for tax consulting work that they will encounter in the profession.

At UniSA, the clinic runs alongside an associated course with assessment items and a grade awarded. The course requires students to study advanced tax topics that are not only relevant for the types of clients that the clinic helps but also relevant for the small business clients that they will see in the profession. Assessment also requires that students complete a reflective report where they select 2 or 3 clinic experiences or events and think about what went well and what could have been improved. Developing a reflective habit is very important for their professional growth to continue after entering the profession.

Finally, students are assessed on their participation in the clinic against several criteria that is important to being a tax professional. This includes:

• their knowledge of the relevant topics
• having an awareness of the implications of their decisions
• the quality of their research skills
• their ability to make connections and draw conclusions
• their ability to exercise judgment
• taking initiative when appropriate
• their ability to follow instructions and learn from their mistakes
• their written and verbal communication skills
• insight and awareness
• work ethic
• punctuality
• their ability to capture relevant facts in notes and working papers
• their taking ownership of their client’s work
• their dress
• overall growth and development.

Tax clinics prepare students for success in the tax profession since the clinic is a professional environment where they can safely learn what it means to be a tax professional. Proof that tax clinics have made students’ transition to tax practice easier and with greater success is shown via research conducted across many clinics in collaboration as well as the numerous students that we have seen successfully made the transition to the tax profession. The impact of tax clinics has been tremendous and can only become more so into the future.

‘The feedback I’ve received through conversations with participating students underscores the transformative impact of teamwork and mentorship, which not only builds students’ technical skills, but the soft skills and confidence they need to achieve professional success.’

The Edith Cowan University (ECU) Tax Clinic provides an opportunity for students studying Business and Law to gain hands-on experience in taxation law and accounting under the guidance of qualified tax experts. It allows students to apply their classroom-based learning in a practical, workplace setting, boosting their employability, and paving the way for a career in taxation. Through the clinic, students gain real world experience while also aiding disadvantaged community members with tax related concerns.

The dedicated team at ECU Tax Clinic possess an intricate knowledge of complex tax regulations, which they use to provide reliable, tailored tax assistance to individuals and businesses not only in Perth, but also in the remote communities of Carnarvon and Fitzroy Crossing.

ECU Tax Clinic is embedded in the curriculum as part of the Work Integrated Learning program, which helps students build the intellectual, interpersonal, communication, and organisational skills that are in high demand by employers. With a strong emphasis on personalised client care, the clinic goes beyond simple consultation, serving those in need in the community by engaging in outreach programs, educational workshops, and partnerships with local organisations. Their commitment to education and community service sets them apart as a socially responsible tax clinic.

The feedback I’ve received through conversations with participating students underscores the transformative impact of teamwork and mentorship, which not only builds students’ technical skills, but the soft skills and confidence they need to achieve professional success.

I have always been impressed by the integrity and ethical standards maintained by ECU Tax Clinic. They uphold the highest levels of professionalism, ensuring confidentiality, accuracy, and compliance in all their interactions. The demonstrated success of ECU Tax Clinic is a testament to the outstanding leadership of our wonderful team of seasoned professionals.

The National Tax Clinic program (NTCP) provides a safe place for individual and small business taxpayers in need to fulfil their tax obligations and receive help in doing so when required. Adding to the complexity of the interactions with the eligible taxpayers are the circumstances that have led to them seeking our assistance. This may be a combination of financial, situational, or emotional issues. For example, a low level of financial literacy, mental health issues, domestic violence or a relationship breakdown, recently emigrated or incarcerated. Of significance is that without the NTCP these cases would remain outstanding as the profit sector of tax professionals would not engage these clients.

As a tax professional I continually face confronting and challenging scenarios that I do not experience in practice. It requires continually liaising with the ATO and an awareness that the students may be adversely affected by the delicate matters that present. Additionally, the challenge lies in working in the ATO system and achieving outcomes outside normal practice to ensure the wellbeing of the taxpayer, is paramount. The time required to achieve a satisfactory result varies from hours to literally 9 months before a resolution is found.

As a tax professional I work with student interns to provide services to the NTC program clients. The services provided include assisting with income tax returns and business activity statement preparation, liaising with the ATO regarding debt waivers and deferrals, objections, setting up MyGov accounts and linking MyTax. We inform and empower the clients by explaining the tax system in the process of providing services and clarifying their rights, responsibilities, and options, taking away previous fear and apprehension. To further help clients leave with a clearer grasp of taxation, fostering a sense of confidence in their own tax knowledge.