Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand * The Tax Institute *
Registration date
05/11/2020
Status
Address
L 22 727 COLLINS STREET Tower 5 Collins Square DOCKLANDS Victoria 3008
Other records
Expiry date
01/12/2023
Condition
Sanctions
None on record
Appeal
Board decision
CXL Reason
Disqualification
<strong>Period of Effect:</strong> 29/11/2023 to 29/11/2026<br/><strong>Reason:</strong> 40-25 Period during which you may not apply for registration
Suspension
None on record
Termination
<strong>Date of Effect:</strong> 29/11/2023<br/><strong>Reason:</strong> 40-5(1)(b) individual no longer meets registration requirements[POPUP_FOR_DETAILS]<br/><strong>Code breach(es):</strong> <ul><li>30-10(1) - You must act honestly and with integrity</li><li>30-10(13) - You must maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the Board's requirements</li></ul><br/><strong>Registration requirement not met:</strong> <ul><li>20-5(1)(a) Individual has ceased to meet registration requirement that they are a fit and proper person</li><li>20-5(1)(c) Individual has ceased to meet registration requirement that they maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the Board's requirements</li></ul><br/><strong>Explanation:</strong> On 24 October 2023, after completing an investigation, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) decided to terminate the tax agent registration of Andrew Barrah. The TPB found Mr Barrah had breached subsections 30-10(1) and 30-10(13) of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code), and that he ceased to meet the tax agent registration requirements as he no longer:<br><br>1. satisfied the TPB that he was a fit and proper person; and<br><br>2. maintained professional indemnity insurance (PII) that meets the Board’s requirements.<br><br>The TPB also imposed a period of three years during which Mr Barrah may not apply for registration.<br><br>The TPB found Mr Barrah breached the Code when he failed to:<br><br>1. act with honesty and integrity by:<br><br>a. providing misleading answers to the Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission (WA CCC), which were only corrected after repeated questioning and being shown evidence; and<br><br>b. failing to comply with the non-disclosure notation in the summons issued to him by the WA CCC.<br><br>2. maintain PII that meets the Board’s requirements from 1 September 2023.<br><br>The TPB also determined that Mr Barrah no longer met the tax agent registration requirements to:<br><br>1. satisfy the Board that he is a fit and proper person as he:<br><br>a. provided a contractor of the Western Australian Department of Communities (DoC) with a list of questions for the purpose of manipulating the tender process for appointment to a DoC legal services panel in order to gain an unfair advantage for Grant Thorton (GT) Lawyers over competitor firms in tendering for appointment to that panel, in circumstances where:<br><br>i. GT Lawyers’ tender did not cover all requirements in the request for tender and without the intervention of the contractor, GT Lawyers may not have been successful in being placed on the DoC legal services panel<br><br>ii. the contractor then arranged for the DoC legal services panel to be refreshed for the purpose of getting GT Lawyers onto the legal services panel<br><br>iii. the contractor used the questions devised by Mr Barrah to screen current and prospective members of the DoC legal services panel<br><br>iv. Mr Barrah’s questions formed the basis of the Scope in Schedule 2 of the request for tender<br><br>v. Mr Barrah was the person who prepared and submitted the tender on behalf of GT Lawyers<br><br>vi. the contractor had positioned herself to be on the tender selection panel, having failed to disclose her prior employment with Grant Thornton Australia (GTA) or her ongoing engagement with staff of the firm<br><br>vii. GT Lawyers was successful in being appointed to the DoC legal services panel<br><br>b. received confidential information from a public officer and a contractor of the DoC for the benefit of himself and his employer, GTA, and failed to take any steps to report his receipt of the confidential information to the DoC or any other appropriate authority<br><br>c. was complicit in the ongoing employment of the daughter of a DoC employee, where that employment was a benefit provided in return for the ongoing referral of DoC work to GTA.<br><br>2. maintain PII that meets the Board’s requirements, noting it was not in dispute that Mr Barrah did not hold a PII policy that meets the Board's requirements.