The decision reinforces the principle that related-party loans will be scrutinised for their practical substance rather than their legal form alone.

The recent decision in Ostwald v Commissioner of Taxation [2026] FCA 868 highlights the challenges company directors can have in mounting a defence against a director penalty notice.

Jesse has been promoted to Senior Associate at Smailes Krawitz.

In late 2024, we summarised the Federal Court’s decision in Cheung v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] FCA 1370.

That outcome has now been emphatically reversed by the Full Federal Court.

Smailes Krawitz is seeing an uptick in criminal prosecutions brought by the ATO. This includes targeting company directors for criminal liability when the company or trustee taxpayer entity has failed to lodge.

Tucked away in the Budget papers under the heading ‘Protecting the tax system against fraud’, the Government has announced that the ATO’s existing garnishee powers ‘will also be expanded to include jointly held assets in circumstances where such arrangements are being used to frustrate recovery actions.’

The proposed tax changes outlined in Labor Government’s 2026-27 Budget might mean that it is time to change the way that private groups think about structuring.

The tax office is targeting the lucrative self-managed superannuation sector and its trustees.

In last month’s decision of RRKC and Commissioner of Taxation, a taxpayer’s purpose and intention in entering property transactions were key to determining whether he had understated his GST and income tax liabilities arising from those sales.

The Tax Practitioner’s Board (𝗧𝗣𝗕) has clarified its position on registered tax practitioners’ breach reporting requirements in relation to the Code of Professional Conduct (𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲).

The ATO-led Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) has outlined its priorities for 2026.

In a recent media release, the ATO has outlined that they will be actively using DPOs as part of their tax enforcement program

We are pleased to announce that Rick Way was recently admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Smailes Krawitz Associate Director, Andrew Giorgi, was recently quoted in AccountantsDaily which brings daily breaking news, analysis and insight to Australian accounting professionals. You can read the article here.

The Smailes Krawitz team is proud to be recognised by our peers as a Leading Wills & Estates Law Firm – Western Australia, 2025 in this year's Doyle's Guide.

We are pleased to announce that Lisa Ma was recently admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Unusual Audit Behaviour -- ATO commences and completes a taxpayer audit, does not notify the taxpayer of the audit and takes funds from the company bank account on the day it notifies the taxpayer of the audit.

The existing superannuation guarantee compliance regime can operate with dramatic effect – but is common sense prevailing?

We are proud of our outstanding team at Smailes Krawitz and for the recognition of First Tier Tax Law Firm, Western Australia in the Doyle’s Guide 2025.

The judgment in Zhang vs Commissioner of Taxation appears a straightforward tax debt decision – but the Federal Court’s summary of the principles affecting garnishee notices gives pause for thought.