Juneja v Tax Practitioners Board [2017] FCA 908

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Juneja v Tax Practitioners Board [2017] FCA 908 Appeal from: Juneja and Another v Tax Practitioners Board [2016] AATA 786

File number: SAD 309 of 2016

Judge: BESANKO J

Date of judgment: 10 August 2017

Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – consideration of an appeal brought under s 44(1) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) against a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal – whether applicants have identified an error of law in the Tribunal's reasons – where the Tribunal affirmed the decisions of the Tax Practitioners Board including the decision to terminate the first applicant's registration as a tax agent pursuant to s 40-15(1)(b) of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) – whether the Tribunal made a reviewable error in finding that the first applicant was not a 'fit and proper person' within the meaning of ss 20-5(1)(a) and 20-50(3)(a) of the Act – where each conclusion of the Tribunal was open on the evidence before it– whether the Tribunal had exercised the jurisdiction reposed in it given the considerable copying of the respondent's closing written submissions in the Tribunal's reasons – where many factual matters and the legal framework stated in the Tribunal's reasons were not in dispute – where on occasions the Tribunal gave acknowledgement where it was repeating or summarising or referring to a submission made by either the applicants or the respondent – where the Tribunal did not simply adopt or copy all of the respondent's submissions – where the applicants made an application to adduce further evidence on the appeal – where further evidence sought to be adduced was irrelevant in light of proper construction of the Tribunal's reasons.