Stephen Jones retains role in recent ministry shake-up
Jones will remain Minister for Financial Services despite recent backlash over his administration of the portfolio from the accounting and advice sectors.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced changes to the cabinet and broader ministry for the Labor Party on the weekend with the federal election drawing closer.
Tony Burke will take over the entire home affairs ministry, replacing Clare O'Neil and Andrew Giles. O'Neil will take over as Minister for Housing and Homelessness, previously looked after by Julie Collins.
Collins is now the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and continues to be the Minister for Small Business.
Stephen Jones will remain as assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services despite the strong criticism he's received from both the accounting and advice sectors in relation to his approach to reform.
Earlier this month, Minister Jones released a ministerial determination which provided tax practitioners with only weeks to prepare for vague and "inconsistent" changes to the tax agent code of conduct.
The determination is the first use of new ministerial powers provided under legislation that was enacted last year in Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 1) Bill 2023.
The legislation enables a Minister to supplement the existing code with additional obligations via a legislative instrument.
The changes have received considerable backlash from professional bodies and the wider accounting sector. A coalition of ten industry bodies united to write an open letter to the Assistant Treasurer, demanding the withdrawal of his changes to the code of conduct.
Shadow Assistant Treasurer Luke Howarth accused Jones of waging war on both financial advisers and accountants following the release of the determination.
“Labor’s war on financial services professionals must end. After botching long awaited reforms to reduce red tape for financial advisers, the Assistant Treasurer has turned his attention to attacking local accountants, bookkeepers and tax agents," Howarth said in a recent statement.
“Some of these new obligations are far-reaching and potentially impossible for thousands of small tax practitioners to comply with. In his haphazard attempt to address bad behaviour from a few large international accounting firms, the Assistant Treasurer has caused chaos and confusion for the rest of the industry."
TPB chairman Peter de Cure has sought to assure the tax profession that the changes to the code of conduct are consistent with existing obligations and that many practitioners would already be complying.
The accounting sector has also been critical of the dob-in provisions introduced for practitioners, which were agreed to by Labor.
Industry bodies have called for a six-month delay to the start date for the breach reporting provisions to allow for further consultation and guidance from the TPB.
