iscover 19 false BAS lodgements: Chartered accountant opts to stay suspended following $11k order
TaxAfter lodging 19 business activity statements using allegedly false information and failing to pay tax debts, a chartered accountant has faced sanctions from CA ANZ, including a membership suspension and an over $11,000 costs order.
A Victorian accountant lost his Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) membership for two years following a decision by the TPB to cancel his registration based on adverse findings concerning 19 business activity statements (BAS) lodgements.
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) alleged that Russell Frederick Grech lodged BAS with false information for the purpose of obtaining unentitled tax refunds, failed to pay tax debts when they fell due, and failed to respond adequately when the ATO requested information to determine if a statement was false and misleading.
Grech has been a member of CA ANZ since 2004, was registered with the TPB in 2011, and obtained a Certificate of Public Practice in 2013.
The TPB further found Grech had failed to provide documentation to substantiate enterprise and GST credits claimed.
Following the investigation, Grech registration as a tax agent with the TPB was cancelled in mid 2025, and he was subject to a two-year no-reapply period.
This led to both the Commissioner of Taxation and the TPB not believing that he could “professionally and competently discharge his duties as a registered tax practitioner”.
The CA ANZ Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) served a Notice of Disciplinary Action signed 20 May 2026 on Grech.
In an email to the Tribunal secretary in July 2026, Grech said that he did not wish to retain his membership with CA ANZ, citing difficult personal circumstances.
The PCC decided to cancel Grech’s CA ANZ membership on 21 October for two years.
“The evidence provided satisfied the Tribunal that adverse or unfavourable findings were made,” the PCC said.
“The proposed suspension is serious but proportionate. The relevant conduct was not an isolated administrative oversight. It involved repeated lodgements containing false information, failure to meet taxation obligations, inadequate cooperation with the ATO, and findings directly concerning honesty, integrity, professional compliance and competence and fitness and propriety.
“The determination discloses a consistent pattern of false and misleading conduct. Conduct involving false BAS information and obstruction or inadequate cooperation with the ATO is apt to diminish confidence in the profession and CA ANZ’s standards.”
The committee said that these disciplinary sanctions are designed to be protective rather than punitive, to shield the public from misconduct, reinforce appropriate professional standards and maintain confidence in CA ANZ.
“The above findings strike at the heart of the public’s expectations that when they are dealing with a member of CA ANZ they are dealing with a person with a high degree of competence and integrity,” the PCC said.
Conduct was such that the Commissioner of Taxation and the TPB did not believe you could professionally and competently discharge your duties as a registered tax practitioner.”
The PCC ordered Grech to pay $11,048 for the full costs of the proceeding.
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