A financial planner and director has been reappointed to the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) for another one-year period.
Steven Dobson has been a member of TPB since March 2022 and will stay on the board for another period of 12 months.
He is a director and financial planner at Mal Dobson & Associates, a Western Australia-based advice practice where he has spent over 25 years.
According to the TPB, Dobson also holds experience on various Western Australian government boards and spent three years as a Financial Advisers Consultative Panel member at ASIC.
He was previously a board member and chairman at the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) Investment Fund, which later became the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA), from 2018 to 2022.
Dobson also served as board of advice member at Consultum Financial Advisers from 2019 to 2024 and has continued as an adviser consultative committee member at Rhombus Advisory following its separation from Insignia Financial last year.
In addition to his reappointment, the TPB also reappointed Debra Anderson for a two‑year period, who has been a member since February 2019. Anderson is an experienced tax agent and former Business Activity Statement agent who has operated a tax advisory business for some 20 years.
The board announced three new appointments, with Joanna Bird, Amanda Gascoigne and Merran Kelsall AO each joining for a three‑year period.
Bird is an experienced financial services regulator, lawyer and academic, having worked as a senior executive at ASIC for 10 years. She is currently a self‑employed consultant providing advice on financial market and services regulation.
Gascoigne is a tax agent, governance professional and educator, while Kelsall is a governance professional, chief executive and academic.
“These appointments bring a diverse range of skills and experience to support the TPB’s critical role in maintaining public trust in the tax profession,” stated Stephen Jones, Minister for Financial Services and Assistant Treasurer.
“The Albanese government is committed to ensuring the TPB has the expertise to effectively regulate tax practitioners and uphold professional and ethical standards.”
As the national body responsible for the registration and regulation of tax practitioners, the TPB supports public trust and confidence in the integrity of the tax profession by ensuring that tax agent services are provided to the community in accordance with appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct.
