2019 national tax clinic project: melbourne law school tax clinic

SUNITA JOGARAJAN, KATE FISCHER-DOHERTY AND JULIAN PANETTA

Abstract

In 2019, Melbourne Law School (‘MLS’) ran a tax clinic for vulnerable taxpayers under the Federal Government’s National Tax Clinic trial. The trial was administered by the Australian Taxation Office. This paper discusses the experience of setting up and running the MLS Tax Clinic in 2019. The paper covers the clinic design, the activities undertaken by the clinic (advice, representation, education, and advocacy), and the observations and reflections of those involved – clients, tax practitioners, academics, and students. The paper concludes by making several recommendations in relation to legal and administrative reform to improve the tax experience for vulnerable taxpayers.

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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.

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THE GRIFFITH TAX CLINIC

BRETT FREUDENBERG, COLIN PERRYMAN, KRISTIN THOMAS AND MELISSA BELLE ISLE

Abstract

Griffith University (Queensland) was one of 10 Australian universities chosen to be part of the 2019 National Tax Clinic Project. This project sought to expand the foundational work done by Curtin University (Western Australia) to establish student tax clinics across Australia. The objectives of these clinics were to provide greater access to justice for unrepresented taxpayers, a rich learning environment for students, and greater tax literacy for the community. The Griffith Tax Clinic opened its doors to the public in July 2019. This article reports on the experience of the Griffith Tax Clinic, in its first year of operation, and sets out key learning outcomes and recommendations gleaned from that experience.

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