A tax dispute is won or lost long before anyone files anything. It is won in what gets said in the first response to the ATO, what evidence is assembled while it is still available, and whether the position taken at the audit stage is one you can still run two years later on objection.
We are brought in at every stage — sometimes at the first risk-review letter, more often once a position paper has landed and the numbers have become real. The work is the same either way: establish what the Commissioner actually has to prove, work out what you can prove, and take the shortest defensible path to a resolution.
Where we act
What we do
- ATO risk reviews, audits and information requests, including Next 5,000 and private group programs
- Position papers and reasons for decision — responding on the technical merits and on the evidence
- Objections against assessments, amended assessments and private ruling decisions
- Default and estimated assessments, and discharging the burden of proof under Part IVC
- Shortfall penalties — reasonable care, reasonable arguable position, recklessness and intentional disregard
- Remission of shortfall interest charge and general interest charge
- Voluntary disclosures, including scoping what to disclose and when
- Settlement strategy, deeds of settlement and negotiating with ATO decision-makers
- Review applications to the Administrative Review Tribunal and appeals to the Federal Court
- Debt matters: payment arrangements, hardship release under Division 340, garnishee and director penalty notices
Common situations
What we are usually brought in on
The amendment period is the whole fight
Whether the Commissioner can go back four years or unlimited years often decides the size of the exposure. Fraud or evasion is an allegation that must be made and made properly.
The burden of proof sits with the taxpayer
In a Part IVC proceeding the taxpayer has to prove the assessment is excessive and prove what the correct figure is. Reconstructing that record after the fact is the hard part, and it is where most disputes are actually decided.
The penalty is bigger than the tax
Penalty and interest frequently exceed the primary tax. Penalty remission and interest remission are separate arguments, decided on different tests, and both are worth running properly.
Reliance on an adviser is being run as a defence
It can work. It generally only works where there is documentary evidence of what was asked, what was said and what was done in response — not a belief that advice should have been given.
How we work
Our approach
Scope first. Before any substantive response, we establish what is actually in issue, what powers the ATO is exercising and what the realistic range of outcomes is. That determines whether the matter should be fought, disclosed or settled.
Evidence before argument. Technical arguments are cheap. Evidence is not. We identify early what has to be proved and whether the material to prove it exists, because that dictates strategy.
Fixed scopes where possible. Disputes run over long periods. We scope work in phases with a fee estimate for each phase so the cost is visible before it is incurred.
Common questions
How long do I have to object to an assessment?
For most individuals and small business taxpayers the objection period is two years from the date the notice of assessment is given; for other taxpayers it is generally four years. A late objection can be lodged with a request for an extension of time, but the request has to explain the delay. The safest course is to treat the date on the notice as a hard deadline and work backwards from it.
Can penalties and interest be reduced after an assessment issues?
Yes. Shortfall penalty can be remitted in whole or part, and shortfall interest charge and general interest charge can be remitted separately on separate tests. Remission is a discretion, so the case has to be made — usually by showing what care was actually taken at the time and what evidence supports it.
Do you take matters to the Tribunal and the Federal Court?
Yes. We run review applications in the Administrative Review Tribunal and appeals in the Federal Court, and we brief and work with counsel where the matter warrants it.
Related insights
Further reading
Trusts
Trust vesting: the deadline hiding in a 1985 deed
When a trust vests, discretionary powers end, income splitting stops, CGT arises on transfer out, and duty may be triggered by the passage of time alone.
Division 7A
Bendel is decided. Now mind the window
The High Court has held an unpaid present entitlement is not a Division 7A loan. What it means, what must be unwound, and why 1 July 2028 changes things.
Trusts
Section 100A: when trust distributions come undone
How section 100A applies to trust distributions, what the ordinary family or commercial dealing exclusion requires, and what Guardian and BBlood decided.
Have a matter you want a straight answer on?
Most engagements start with a short conversation about the issue, what the exposure looks like and what it would cost to deal with it properly. There is no charge for that conversation.