CPA Australia Tax News

This edition of Tax News was current at the time of publication on 22 October 2026. You can subscribe to the Tax News email in your comms preference centre. 

Trust minimum tax: tell the Senate what you’re seeing

What’s in the Bills

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 3) Bill 2026 and the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Minimum Tax on Discretionary Trusts) Bill 2026 introduce a 30 per cent minimum tax on the net income of discretionary trusts from 1 July 2028. The trustee pays the tax, and beneficiaries other than companies receive a non-refundable offset for their share. 

The bills also provide:

• an election to income tax roll-over relief from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2030 for trusts restructuring into another entity e.g. company
• an election that switches off the minimum tax where the trust fixes the shares of nominated beneficiaries (the excluded election trust (EET) election must be made during the period starting on 1 July 2028 and ending on the last day of the first income year of the trust estate that commences on or after 1 July 2028)
• a new definition of ‘fixed trust’.

The Tax Reform No. 3 Bill also amends the CGT and negative gearing reforms, including cost base rules, residency changes, and the treatment of new residential dwellings and affordable housing.

Submissions close 29 October, and CPA Australia will lodge. The Senate Economics Legislation Committee reports by 13 November. 

Why we need you. The government has listened, and the Bill is somewhat better than the original budget announcements. 

But better isn’t the same as ready. 

From 1 July 2027 families face choices that can’t be undone, while 12 rules that shape them are left to ministerial instruments not yet released. Senators give real weight to what practitioners see on the ground.

Senators give real weight to what practitioners see on the ground. I’d be interested in your views. The questions take about five minutes and closes Friday 30 October. Email us at [email protected] with your answers. 

1. Your practice: state, size, and number of discretionary trust clients.
2. How many of those trusts distribute to a company? Who holds that company’s shares: individuals, the family trust or another entity?
3. Roughly how many trust clients do you expect to pay the minimum tax, make the election, restructure or remain undecided?
4. For clients unlikely to elect, what are the main reasons? For example, retaining profits, adding children later, investors or succession, the company’s constitution or stamp duty.
5. What are you waiting for before you advise? Instruments, ATO guidance, state duty positions, next tranche of integrity measures or nothing?
6. What do you expect to charge, and how many hours, for the decision advice alone? For a typical restructure or advise on the EET excluding duty?
7. Can you advise every affected client before 30 June 2029? If not, what share is at risk?
8. Optional: one example we may use, with your consent, such as a licence or approval that can’t move to a new entity, a family event the EET election can’t accommodate or a will that lets trust income go to a company or another trust.

You can follow me on Linkedin on the latest on our tax advocacy efforts.

Jenny Wong
Tax Lead
CPA Australia

Extension of the GIC remission offer

The ATO is extending its GIC remission offer for family trust distribution tax liabilities until 30 June 2027. 

This follows feedback raised from the Private Groups Stewardship Group earlier this year, about the challenges in obtaining relevant historical records.  

You can find the full details of the remission opportunity, including steps to take up the offer, here. 

Engaging the ATO on disputed debts

The ATO is encouraging large businesses and privately owned and wealthy taxpayers to engage them early on when it comes to disputed debts. 

They expect these taxpayers to either pay their debt in full or enter into a 50:50 arrangement, detailed in PS LA 2011/4.

To support better cooperation, the ATO has tailored communication channels for medium, large and multinational businesses.

Stronger ATO and TPB powers to address fraud

Treasury’s consultation paper proposes expanded powers to address intermediary misconduct, recover or waive affected tax debts, and target jointly held assets used to frustrate recovery. 
It also considers policy options to take action against perpetrators using government services to facilitate fraud or financial abuse.

Send your comments by 20 November to: [email protected]

Crypto asset reporting framework

Treasury’s exposure draft would:

• implement the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework
• establish a domestic regime requiring virtual asset service providers to report specified transactions involving Australian residents
• update the Common Reporting Standard for electronic money, central bank digital currencies and relevant crypto-assets. 

Date of effect: The Bill would commence in the first calendar quarter after Royal Assent. Revised CRS rules apply from 1 January 2027, the domestic regime from 1 July 2027, and initial CARF reports are due in 2028.

Send your comments by 26 October to: [email protected]

Registration terminated over client verification

The TPB terminated a company’s registration for serious identity verification, record-keeping and supervision failures, including unauthorised ATO access, false records, altered bank details and redirected refunds. 

The company breached the Code of Professional Conduct and cannot reapply for three years. 

Practitioners must verify client identities, authority and documents, and retain accurate records consistently.

New members appointed to the TPB

The government appointed former Clayton Utz partner and Deutsche Bank executive Mark Friezer and tax practice founder and former BDO UK partner Paula Tallon Bennett as part-time TPB members. 

Submissions to the ATO

We recently made the following submissions:

1. LCR 2026/D5 The standard deduction for work-related expenses
2. GSTR 2012/3DC: GST treatment of care services and accommodation in retirement villages and privately funded nursing homes and hostels
3. TR 2026/D1 Income tax: receipt and disposal of crypto assets by an airdrop

Financial services sector faces CSLR special levy

A $170.3 million dollar CSLR special levy for 2026–27 will fund claims exceeding the financial advice cap. 

Costs will be shared across financial advice, managed investments and other retail sectors, including superannuation. 

ASIC will collect the levy after the disallowance period.

Increased consumer protections for CFDs

ASIC’s CS 64 is seeking feedback on their proposal to extend CFD consumer protections to cover digital asset settlements, clarify option margins, prohibit netting opposing positions, and refine discounts and tools. 

It also questions whether CFDs over options that expose retail clients to losses greater than the premium should continue to be available.

Consultation on IDR reporting instrument

ASIC proposes remaking the Internal Dispute Resolution reporting instrument for five years to give small banks the option to report their IDR data annually rather than every six months. 
ASIC is seeking feedback on whether or not all reporting firms should have reduced reporting frequency requirements.

Submissions close 13 November 2026.

2027 Divisional Councils election results 

Congratulations on the successful appointments of the Divisional Council ‘Office Bearers’. 

The election of Councillors to Divisional Councils will be for the period 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029.

Read the results.

2026 Regulatory Update for Australian Public Practitioners 

Monday 23 November 2026 | 1 CPD hour 

Join us for an update on regulatory changes in 2026 and impending changes. Presented by Belinda Zohrab and Neville Birthisel from CPA Australia’s Policy & Advocacy team.

Tax Reform No 3 Bill: negative gearing and Payday Super

On 14 October 2026, the government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No 3) Bill 2026. The No 3 Bill introduces a 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts from 1 July 2028, payable by trustees, with offsets for non-corporate beneficiaries and specified exclusions. 

Taxpayers may use transitional rollover relief from 2027 to 2030 to restructure, although State and Territory duties remain. Alternatively, existing trusts may elect in 2028–29 to make fixed distributions as excluded election trusts. 

The Bill also defines fixed trusts, sets the tax rate through companion legislation, and foreshadows further integrity and interaction amendments concerning CGT, residency, international tax and administration rules.

Negative gearing would remain available for qualifying new dwellings and specified housing, including affordable and public housing, NDIS dwellings, build-to-rent developments, retirement villages and residential care homes. 

A one-off Payday Super measure would disregard eligible contributions for the June 2026 quarter when applying the 2026–27 concessional contributions cap, preventing timing issues arising from the transition to more frequent superannuation contributions.

Amendments to Treasury portfolio

Treasury’s exposure draft consultation package proposes minor and technical amendments to:

• clarify the Corporations Act definition of ‘director’
• extend leave-payment tax offsets for genuine redundancies prospectively
• remove a statutory declaration requirement for deceased-estate government stock transfers
• correct superannuation valuation rules affecting Division 296 tax from 1 July 2026
• restore intended GST-free treatment for specified aged care services supplied from 1 November 2025.

Consultation on digital asset platform regulatory framework

CP 392 proposes standards and guidance for the Digital Assets Framework, regulating digital asset and tokenised custody platforms from 8 April 2027. 

ASIC’s user guide is intended to help stakeholders navigate the package.

Increased net tangible assets thresholds

ASIC’s Amendment Instrument 2026/708 increases net tangible asset thresholds for responsible entities, IDPS operators and retail CCIV corporate directors, restoring their inflation-adjusted value.

The increases are to be indexed starting 1 July 2027.

Private Health Insurance Bill reintroduced

After the Senate discharged Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026, the same legislation was reintroduced in identical form to the House less than 24 hours later. 

Indicators of a business

Draft TR 2026/D2 explains when an individual is carrying on a business, as opposed to an investment or hobby, for s 6-5 and s 8-1 of the ITAA 1997.

The question is one of fact, based on the overall impression of activities. Indicators include commercial purpose, intention, profit purpose and prospect, business-like organisation, size and scale, and repetition and regularity. No single indicator is decisive and their weight depends on the circumstances. 

The ruling also addresses when a business commences and ceases.

Date of effect: The final ruling is proposed to apply both before and after its date of issue.

Send your comments by 20 November to: [email protected]

Commissioner-initiated SG shortfall assessments

Draft PS LA 2026/D4 outlines guidance in relation to issuing a Commissioner-initiated assessment under s 36 of the Super Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992. 

It limits PS LA 2007/10 to earlier quarters and revises PS LA 2021/3 for the title change.

Comments close 9 November.

New guidance and rulings

The ATO issued the following:

• Can trustees or members of a complying superannuation fund 'control' the superannuation fund in the way described in section 328-125 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997? (TD 2006/68A2 - Addendum)
• OneSteel Manufacturing Pty Limited – Whyalla Early Retirement Scheme 2026-2027 (CR 2026/76).
• Juniper Networks, Inc. – acquisition by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company – employee share scheme (CR 2026/77).
• Queensland Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety –Professional Foster Care Program (CR 2026/78)
• FTC Automator platform – use by clients of KPMG and Directed Australia to calculate fuel tax credits (PR 2026/21).

Special leave declined in four cases

The High Court refused special leave in Toowoomba Regional Council, Cheung, SKG Cleaning Services and Vicinity Funds. 

The underlying decisions therefore stand on FBT commercial parking, assessability of $33 million dollars in deposits, NSW payroll tax for employment agency contracts, and Victorian revenue treatment. 

Hourly hire considered an employee for SG purposes 

In Kay and FCT (2026), the ART held that a water truck operator was an employee under the extended definition in s 12(3) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992. 

The operator drove a truck owned and maintained by the taxpayer, worked personally, supplied no significant equipment and was paid $35 per hour rather than for a specified result. 

The ART rejected claims that the operator delegated work or that the hourly rate included superannuation, noting that any such agreement could not displace the taxpayer’s statutory obligation. 

The taxpayer failed to prove the SGC assessments were excessive and remained liable for approximately $16,500, including GIC.

Tax governance frameworks with clients

IR recommends helping clients build fit-for-purpose tax governance frameworks so they can better meet obligations and reduce risk. 

Frameworks should be tailored to each business’s size, complexity and risk profile. Tax agents can help by documenting procedures for key taxes, assessing whether processes and controls remain appropriate, identifying likely error areas and implementing safeguards. 

Agents should also encourage early resolution of issues and regularly review frameworks as businesses evolve. 

Trade and investment with Brazil, Canada and India

New Zealand has set up Trade and Investment Dialogues with Brazil and Canada to facilitate annual meetings between trade ministers.

From 20 October 2026, NZ exporters can start using the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement, with tariffs removed on 57 per cent of NZ’s exports to India. Over time, that percentage will rise to 82 per cent. 

In total, tariffs on 95% of current exports will either be eliminated or reduced. 

Expectations for supervising cyber and AI

The RBNZ and FMA have outlined supervisory expectations when it comes to responding to increased cyber risk, evolving governance challenges and growing third-party risks.  

Boards and senior management are expected to understand where AI is used, its associated risks and accountability for managing them.

Driving productivity with heavy vehicle changes

The government is consulting on 28 heavy vehicle rule changes intended to reduce compliance costs, improve freight productivity and maintain safety. 

Proposals include higher weight limits, mass-limit exemptions for fire trucks, easier specialist limits for crane and sucker trucks, and more flexible overdimension travel. 

Some detailed requirements may be moved into transport instruments, allowing them to be updated more quickly. 

The consultation seeks feedback on exemptions for rigid agricultural vehicles, subject to infrastructure protections.

Legislation modification powers

GA 26/01 explains sections of the Tax Administration Act 1994, which allow temporary modifications or exemptions when IR Acts contain errors and ambiguities or fail to achieve their intended purpose. 

Under s 6D, the Governor-General may modify provisions by Order in Council on the Minister of Revenue’s recommendation. The Commissioner may also grant exemptions (s 6E). 

The powers aim to correct legislative problems quickly, while preserving taxpayer choice and limiting the duration of any departure from the enacted law.

Taxpayers may choose whether to apply temporary modifications and exemptions, which usually last no more than three years and may sometimes operate retrospectively. 

Powers to modify tax requirements

IR explained limited powers to modify or vary IR Act provisions and requirements in specified circumstances:

• GA 26/01: The remedial powers outlines sections 6C to 6G. These powers allow temporary modifications or exemptions where provisions contain errors, are ambiguous or inconsistent, or do not achieve their intended purpose. Changes are made by Order in Council or Commissioner exemption and generally benefit taxpayers, who may choose whether to apply them.
• GA 26/02: COVID-19 response variations covers the Commissioner’s former discretion under sections 6H and 6I to vary deadlines, timeframes and procedural or administrative requirements where COVID-19 made compliance impossible, impractical or unreasonable. The discretion applied from 17 March 2020 to 30 September 2023.

Home detention for donation tax fraud

A South Auckland man was sentenced to seven-and-a-half months’ home detention for using fabricated donation receipts and false GST returns to obtain tax refunds. 

He issued false receipts to support $128,800 in donation tax credit claims and filed 39 GST returns through 14 companies, seeking nearly $200,000. 

Ten entities received $77,480.10. However, other refunds he tried to obtain were held by IR. 

Prison for falsely-claimed COVID-19 support

An Auckland woman was sentenced to 29 months’ imprisonment after admitting tax and fraud offences involving forged and altered documents. 

The taxpayer used several companies to falsely claim COVID-19 business support, seeking $185,532.12 and receiving $100,813.04, which she diverted to personal accounts. 

She also made fraudulent GST refund and personal tax expense claims over six years.

Logistics director sentenced for PAYE offending

An Auckland logistics director was sentenced to nine months’ home detention for aiding Ram Logistics Limited’s failure to pay employee PAYE deductions.

Between May 2020 and May 2024, the company missed 45 payments and entered liquidation in March 2025 owing approximately $6.3 million dollars in tax. The Court found he knowingly prioritised other creditors but mainly used funds to sustain the business. 

After paying $120,000 reparation, his three-and-a-half year starting sentence was reduced by 55 per cent and converted to home detention.

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