Court clears way for TPB to deregister Ballarat tax agent after fiduciary breaches

The TPB first began investigating Mulcahy in July 2024, after it became aware of the initial court case against him. Mulcahy had been a registered tax agent since 2010.

In July 2025, the TPB sought to terminate Mulcahy’s registered tax agent status and bar him from re-registering for four years. It said it was satisfied Mulcahy had failed to comply with the TASA code of professional conduct, and ceased to meet the registration requirement of being a fit and proper person.

“The seriousness of the conduct is such that the TPB, the Commissioner, clients and the public could not have confidence that Mr. James Mulcahy would perform his functions as a registered tax agent with integrity,” the board submitted to the court.

“The Committee also noted the need for the community to have confidence that they are able to obtain suitable advice from their tax agents without concern for how that information will be used by their tax agent.”

In coming to its decision, the ART considered whether allowing the TPB to cancel Mulcahy’s membership would cause undue hardship. It noted that Mulcahy had been barred from providing registered tax agent services for the four months prior due to a temporary stay order, and he did not submit that this had caused him undue hardship.

However, if the stay were not to be granted, Mulcahy said he and the broader Mulcahy and Co group would suffer adverse reputational damages. This is because the TPB would publish details of the termination, notify the Commissioner of Taxation, and professional associations such as CPA Australia, they argued.

The TPB fired back that any “adverse consequences” Mulcahy could experience stemmed from the privileged commercial position he had operated in as a tax agent, which naturally entailed the risk of regulation and associated consequences.

The ART also noted that there was a public interest in the TPB being permitted to discharge its statutory obligations without impediment.

“There is an additional public interest in the public’s confidence that the [TPB] is able to and does act promptly to protect members of the public receiving registered tax services,” court documents read.

The tribunal added that, if the TPB’s application were to be paused, Mulcahy would retain his registered tax agent status in the meantime, undermining the TPB’s ability to appear and perform as an effective regulator.

“If the operation of the decisions is stayed, [Mulcahy] will remain registered,” the court noted.

“Given the adverse publicity, the extent of the uncontested findings of the Courts to date and the fact that the allegations involve client facing conduct, I am not persuaded that the appropriate balance is to maintain the status quo while their applications are heard and determined.”

The tribunal opted against issuing a permanent stay in the TPB proceedings, instead extending a temporary stay for a further 28 days, set to expire on 30 January.