2019 National Tax Clinic Project: James Cook University TAX CLINIC
VAN LE AND TINA HOYER
James Cook University (JCU) embraced the opportunity to establish and operate a Tax Clinic under the National Tax Clinic Program. As the only regional university to take up the challenge, JCU aimed to deliver a valuable service to the North and Far North Queensland community, provide work experience and work integrated learning for JCU taxation law students, as well as pro bono opportunities for local tax practitioners. The JCU Tax Clinic (the Clinic) was successfully launched and became operational by July 2019. Since becoming operational, the Clinic has assisted many North and Far North Queensland individuals and small businesses and has been described as an absolute godsend.1 This article sets out what occurred in 2019 during the operation of the Clinic and specifically:
- provides an outline of the design model of the Clinic, and details the involvement of the Clinic staff, students, industry and the Clinics clients;
- sets out some key observations of the Clinic experience in terms of key challenges and learnings from the operation of the Clinic; and
- outlines the future plans for the Clinic.