OBTAINING A PUBLIC PRACTICE CERTIFICATE

Intending to earn between $10,000 and $45,000 in gross fees per calendar year	Intending to earn more than $45,000 in gross fees per calendar year

Hold a CPA or FCPA designation2

Australian members: Complete Australian-specific Company Law and Tax, if required3 New Zealand members: Complete a New Zealand-specific Company Law and Taxation Law subject3

Complete the on-demand Public Practice Program eLearning course4

Meet experience requirements6	Attend the Public Practice Program Workshop

Hold minimum prescribed professional indemnity insurance Meet experience requirements6 Hold minimum prescribed professional indemnity insurance Have an approved company structure

Apply for a Limited Public Practice Certificate	Apply for a Public Practice Certificate

Apply to use the CPA Australia public practice branding and comply with branding requirements

Apply to advertise and promote your services on Find a CPA

Comply with professional obligations (including CPD and AML) and specific licensing and registration requirements5

PROVIDING PUBLIC ACCOUNTING SERVICES WITHOUT A CERTIFICATE

Only undertaking pro-bono work1 Intending to earn less than $10,000 in gross fees per calendar year1

Hold a CPA or FCPA designation2

Hold minimum prescribed professional indemnity insurance

Meet CPD and AML obligations, as applicable5

Comply with specific licensing and registration requirements

Do not advertise or promote your services or use the CPA Australia public practice branding

1. Australian members: Excludes those who sign audit reports for SMSFs, for which a public practice certificate is required and may exclude members undertaking review engagements, for which a public practice certificate may be required. NZ members: Excludes those who conduct FMC audits, for which a public practice certificate is required. 2. Must currently hold either a CPA or FCPA designation – all other CPA Australia members will not be eligible to apply for a public practice certificate, and in some very limited circumstances, may not be able to continue to provide public accounting services. 3. If you have migrated to Australia or New Zealand in the last five years, you must also have completed Company Law and Tax from an approved higher education provider specific to the relevant jurisdiction following your migration to Australia or New Zealand. 4. New Zealand members: Members holding a NZICA or Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand certificate of public practice are automatically eligible to be issued with a CPA Australia public practice certificate without completing the Public Practice Program. 5. Australian members: The Australian Commonwealth Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML) currently only applies to financial advisers who make arrangements on behalf of a client to invest in a financial product. It does not apply to accountants in practice. It has been proposed to bring accountants and other professionals within the Act. New Zealand members: The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Act 2017 extended the coverage of New Zealand’s AML/CFT laws to include accountants from 1 October 2018. 6. You must provide evidence satisfactory to the Board of having for a period of at least three years within the last eight years immediately preceding the application been engaged in full-time employment in an area of work that includes provision of public accounting services.