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The Tax Practitioners Board has received over 1100 whistleblower complaints since the start of the new whistleblower arrangements in July.
TPB reports over 1k whistleblower reports under new regime
13 June 2025
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8 minute read
The Tax Practitioners Board has shared some statistics about the number of whistleblower reports it has received since changes to the whistleblower laws came into effect on 1 July last year.
Since 1 July 2024 Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has been able to receive disclosures of information from eligible whistleblowers, in a move to protect their identity, better regulate the tax profession, and protect the public and the integrity of the tax system.
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The whistleblower arrangements were introduced last year on 1 July to individuals who ‘blew the whistle’ about related entities to the TPB to assist it in performing its functions and duties under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.
Previously there had been no protection for individuals if they disclosed information to the TPB.
Speaking on an upcoming Under the Hood podcast episode, Peter de Cure, chair of the TPB, said since the enforcement of the reforms, the TPB had received a total of 1,111 complaints, of which 601 qualified for disclosure and 106 had an eligible relationship.
“For the first time, the TPB is now an eligible whistleblower recipient. So, we have a system with the ATO where the complaints can be made direct to us, direct to the ATO or to the government at large. Now we have a process with the ATO where we triage those complaints and divide them between ourselves,” he said.
“The right ones that are about the ATO go to them, the ones that are relevant for us come to us. Over the period, we've received a total of 1100 complaints, of which 601 qualify.”
Despite the protections now existing, de Cure noted it was important for potential whistleblowers to know that the whistleblower relationship was specific and there were certain eligibility requirements.
“The eligible whistleblower relationship is quite a specific thing, and people need to be aware that they need to be an eligible whistleblower before they can rely on the protections,” de Cure said.
“To us, that means where you're an eligible whistleblower, we can definitely protect your identity in those circumstances where you're not an eligible whistleblower, we encourage you to say that you want the matter to be handled as confidentially as possible, and we will do everything we can to comply with that.”
“But if you're not an eligible whistleblower, we might have to go down a path of making further inquiries. So, you just need to be aware of that.”
De Cure also provided an update on the breach reporting regime, which has also been in operation since July last year.
As of 6 June, the TPB had received 83 separate breach reports from registered tax agents, indicating they were reporting a significant breach of the code.
Sixty-four of those reports were made by registered agents against other registered agents, and 19 of the breaches were self-reported.
It was also noted that of these 83 reports, 8 were under review, 24 had been escalated to a further review or investigation, 38 required no further action and three led to the issue of a nudge letter.
“I can report very happily that we haven’t received any breach reports that we regard to be frivolous, vexatious or malicious, so that’s a very good thing,” de Cure said.
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