How a Client Nominates a Tax Agent With the ATO

To nominate a tax agent, an individual usually gives the practice signed authority and the agent adds them to its ATO client list. A business with an ABN, excluding sole traders, first nominates the practice through client-to-agent linking.

Two Routes: Individuals and Businesses

Individuals and sole traders use the agent-led route. Companies, trusts, partnerships and self-managed super funds (SMSFs) with an ABN use business nomination before the agent adds them.

Clients often say they want to appoint a tax agent. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) calls the business step an agent nomination. It happens in Online services for business.

Client type	Who starts	Where it happens
Individual	The practice, after receiving authority	Add client in Online services for agents
Sole trader	The practice, after receiving authority	The individual route in Online services for agents
Company	An authorised person for the company	Agent nominations in Online services for business, then the practice adds the client
Trust	An authorised person for the trust	Online services for business, then the practice adds the trust
Partnership	An authorised person for the partnership	Online services for business, then the practice adds the partnership
SMSF	An authorised person for the fund	Online services for business, then the practice adds the fund

The client’s nomination names the agent. The practice then adds the accounts or roles it has authority to handle, such as income tax or activity statements. Access can differ between roles.

For income tax and fringe benefits tax (FBT), the ATO says one nomination is enough. Add income tax first, then add FBT through Maintain authorisations. The ATO’s linking guidance explains this account distinction.

Adding an Individual Client to Your Client List

Hold the individual’s signed authority before adding them. Complete the separate identity checks for tax agents before the practice adds the client.

Use the ATO’s Add client instructions in Online services for agents.

1. Open My practice and select Add client. The Add client quick link reaches the same function.
2. At Find a client, select Individual.
3. Choose the identifier and enter the client’s TFN. Enter the client’s date of birth exactly as the ATO holds it.
4. Select Search. Compare the returned name with the client whose authority you hold before proceeding.
5. Complete the authorisation choices for the work you have agreed to do. Read any warning about replacing another agent before confirming the addition.
6. Open the client’s record and check Maintain authorisations. Confirm that your practice has the intended account access before attempting a lodgment.

A TFN identifies the record. The client’s authority permits you to act. Proof of record ownership is the ATO’s check that a person seeking access can supply information from that record.

When the ATO needs further record checks, have the client’s existing ATO documents ready. Details can include information from an ATO notice or the financial institution account already recorded. Follow the specific question asked.

For a hypothetical individual, the form supplies their TFN and date of birth. Their recent notice of assessment supplies the assessment details, including its reference and assessed amounts. Bank details come from the account the ATO already holds, which can differ from the client’s preferred account for future refunds. Enter the requested field, not a guessed substitute.

If an answer fails, compare the entered details with the source document before trying again. Stop repeated guesses when the service refuses further attempts. Call the ATO with the client available and explain the failed check so the ATO can establish record ownership.

Individuals can manage authorised contacts through myGov: open the Australian Taxation Office linked service, then My profile and Authorised contacts. The ATO also accepts authorised-contact updates by phone or post. Its authorised-contact instructions cover those channels.

An authorised-contact entry and the practice’s registered-agent relationship have different functions. Use Add client for the practice’s client list. If the client needs help giving authority by phone, call with them present so they can answer the ATO’s questions themselves.

How to Nominate a Tax Agent for a Business or Company

A business client must nominate the practice before you add the business to your client list. Sole traders continue to use the individual route.

1. The business’s principal authority links their myID to the business ABN in Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). Existing business access can be used.
2. The client signs in to Online services for business and nominates the practice using its registered agent number. The practice cannot submit this nomination for the client.
3. The practice confirms the nomination and adds the accounts it is authorised to handle. Finish within 28 days of nomination, before it expires.

The client nominates the practice, while your authority determines which roles you add. Give the client the agreed roles so they understand the scope, without asking them to select accounts on the nomination screen.

Use this message pattern for a new company client. Put the practice’s actual registered agent number in the message before sending it.

Please nominate our practice in Online services for business using the registered agent number supplied with this message. We will handle the company’s income tax account. Keep your existing BAS agent for activity statements. Tell us when the nomination is complete so we can add the company within 28 days.

The ATO does not automatically notify the practice. Ask for confirmation, or use the client nominations on-demand report in Online services for agents. The business linking guide covers the full steps and fixes. The ATO nomination instructions also explain extensions and expired nominations.

Tax Genie sends clients your practice’s agent-linking guide, tracks each entity’s confirmation and reminds clients who have not finished. Record the staff check once you have confirmed the nomination.

The Client Authority Form

The practice needs signed authority to act before it adds the client or changes an authorisation. Keep that authority available for the ATO to inspect if requested.

A client authority form records the agreed permission. Include enough detail to identify both the client and the practice.

• The client’s full legal name and relevant identifiers, collected securely.
• Each entity covered by the authority.
• The accounts or roles the practice will handle.
• The signing person’s name and capacity if they sign for an entity or another person.
• The signature and signing date.
• How the client can withdraw authority and contact the practice.

Collect this authority in the same signing step as the engagement letter. Make the permission explicit so accepting fees and scope does not leave the authority unclear.

Keep the authority with the service records. The Tax Practitioners Board’s record guidance requires retention for at least five years after the service is provided. Longer duties can apply.

Authority to act is separate from consent to disclose client information. A permission to represent the client before the ATO does not itself document permission to disclose information to another provider.

Clients Acting Through an Attorney

A person acting under a power of attorney can instruct the practice for the client when the document gives them that power. Check that the authority is in force and covers the tax affairs involved.

A general power of attorney and an enduring power of attorney have different operation when the client loses capacity. The document’s terms and applicable state or territory law determine when the attorney can act.

Before relying on the attorney for ATO dealings, have their authority recorded by the ATO. Prepare the power of attorney document and the client’s identifying details. The attorney must also establish their own identity with the ATO.

Contact the ATO to have the representative authority recorded and obtain the submission instructions for that client. Give the ATO the requested documents through its directed channel. Keep the receipt and confirm the authority has been recorded before acting through the attorney.

When the attorney is acting within that authority, they give your practice its authority to act and sign the engagement documents in that capacity. Record the client as the taxpayer and the attorney as the signing representative.

A power of attorney ends when the client dies. The executor or administrator then acts under separate estate authority, even if they were also the attorney. The Western Australian Government’s attorney guidance explains that change of role.

When a Client Changes Agents

Adding a new practice can remove the existing agent for the account or role being replaced. Read the ATO’s replacement warnings before completing the addition.

Agree which roles move before you add the client. For example, a client can move income tax to your practice while retaining their BAS agent for activity statements. Do not select broader authorisations merely because the client signed a general engagement letter.

After adding the client, check Maintain authorisations for each agreed role. Confirm the practice has the expected access and that a role the client wanted to retain was not replaced.

ATO access does not complete professional clearance from the previous accountant. Handle the ethical clearance letter and the client’s permission for that communication separately.

Why a Nomination Fails and How to Fix It

Match the failure to the person who can correct it. Repeated attempts with unchanged information leave the same problem unresolved.

Failure	Who acts	Check and fix
No matching individual record	Practice, then client if ATO details need correction	Compare TFN and date of birth with the supplied record. Correct typing errors. The client resolves incorrect ATO personal details.
Record ownership answer fails	Client with practice support	Find the ATO notice or recorded account detail requested. Stop guessing and contact the ATO when access is refused.
Business cannot nominate	Client	Finish business access in RAM, then return to Online services for business. Use the linking guide for the access failure.
Nomination names the wrong practice	Client	Compare the registered agent number and displayed practice details. Correct the nomination before the practice tries to add the client.
Nomination has expired	Client	Submit a fresh nomination. An expired nomination cannot be extended.
Client appears but a required role is unavailable	Practice, with client confirmation	Compare Maintain authorisations with the signed authority. Add the agreed account, obtaining a new nomination where required.

Collect the TFN and date of birth securely before an individual search. Collect the ABN for each business entity and request a recent notice of assessment when it helps resolve the requested record check. Keep each entity’s identifiers separate from its directors’ personal details.

Once the addition succeeds, open the client record and check the agreed account access. Record completion only when the practice can see the roles it needs for the first job.