Terms & Conditions
1. Who may instruct us
“You” means the person or entity as described as the “client” or “group” in our Engagement Letter.
“We” or “us” refers to The Lineage Group Pty Ltd as trustee for Lineage Group Unit Trust (ACN 647 362 105) trading as Lineage Group (ABN 45 909 356 889).
“Agreement” refers to these Terms and the Engagement Letter and any accompanying documents provided to you that outline the nature and scope of our engagement (“Services”) and the terms of our agreement. It also includes any additional documents or annexures expressly stated to form part of the Engagement Letter.
You warrant and confirm that you, and any other nominated person you advise us about in writing, are authorised to enter into any binding agreement with us on behalf of the client and/or Group specified in our Engagement Letter, and you are authorised to give us instructions and information on behalf of all persons we are acting for, to receive our Services and documents and incur our professional fees on their behalf.
If we are acting for a business or group of companies, and we receive conflicting advice, information, or instructions from different people, we may refer the matter to the board of directors, partners or proprietors (as applicable) and act only as requested by them.
You warrant that you are authorised to incur professional fees for and on behalf of the client, entity or group of entities, and their respective officers, named in our Engagement Letter.
These Terms and Conditions of Service (“Terms”) should be read in conjunction with our Engagement Letter.
2. Your responsibilities
You must provide us with all information necessary for dealing with your affairs, including information which we reasonably request, in sufficient time to enable our Services to be completed before any applicable deadline. To help us deliver our services efficiently and reduce the risk of scope changes, cost increases, or delays, you must promptly provide all information and assistance we reasonably request. This includes disclosing all information relevant to the engagement, as well as any details required under anti‑money laundering laws, other legislation, or professional standards.
If you do not provide the requested information in a timely manner, you acknowledge that this may cause delays or additional costs, for which you will be solely responsible
We will rely on the information you provide being true, current, accurate, complete and not misleading. We will not audit, verify or conduct any due diligence on the information you provide to us, unless expressly stated in writing in our Engagement Letter. We will not be held liable for any deficiencies in the Services if you give us incorrect, misleading or inaccurate instructions or information. If after you provide us with information anything renders that information inaccurate or misleading, you must promptly inform us and take all steps necessary to correct and update that information.
You, and where applicable your officers, jointly and severally agree to unconditionally indemnify us in respect of any costs, losses, expenses, damages, liabilities or penalties arising as a result of our processing, reliance upon or use of any information provided by you to us.
You authorise us to approach third parties for information that we consider appropriate and necessary to provide you with our Services.
You agree to keep us informed of any changes in your circumstances and information you provide to us that may affect our Services.
3. Acceptance of our Terms
Our Engagement Letter provided to you is subject to these Terms. If you continue to provide us with instructions or request us to provide the Services after you receive our Engagement Letter, you and the entity or group of entities you are authorised to represent are deemed to have read, understood, accepted and agreed to be bound by these Terms, even if the Engagement Letter is not signed or returned to us.
The binding Agreement between you and the Lineage Group, must be read in the following order of precedence:
a) these Terms;
b) the Engagement Letter;
c) any correspondence in writing from us which confirms the provision of an additional scope of work to the scope of work contained in the Engagement Letter;
d) any policies, protocols or procedures document provided to you and tailored to the specific scopes of work you have requested us to provide to you.
Where any inconsistency or conflict occurs between the provisions of any two or more of the documents referred to in 3(a) to (d), the documents lower in the order of precedence prevail to the extent of any inconsistency to those documents higher in order of precedence.
4. Qualification on our services
Our Services are qualified as follows:
a) You must not act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without first confirming with us that the advice is still valid.
b) We are bound to provide you with the scope of Services you have engaged us to perform, as described in our Engagement Letter.
c) Unless otherwise specified in our Engagement Letter, our Services cannot be relied upon to disclose irregularities and errors, including fraud and other illegal acts, in your affairs to any third party, unless you specifically engage us to undertake an audit or review in this regard.
d) Where your engagement with us is ongoing, we may amend our Engagement Letter, including these Terms, from time to time where we consider it is necessary or appropriate to do so by giving you reasonable prior notice.
If you do not accept our amended or updated Terms you must promptly notify us to discuss any concerns. We reserve the right to terminate our Services without liability where an agreement cannot be reached.
5. Your reliance on our advice
Any verbal advice we give is not intended to be relied upon unless confirmed in writing. If we provide verbal advice (for example during a meeting or telephone conversation) that you wish to rely on, you must ask us to confirm the advice in writing prior to relying on that advice.
All advice and information we provide will be based on the details you give us. If any information is incomplete or inaccurate, our advice or recommendations may need to be revised.
Our reports, opinions, and advice will always be provided in writing and addressed to you. They are intended solely for your use and reliance, unless we specifically authorise otherwise in writing.
While we may provide guidance and recommendations, all decisions regarding whether and how to act on them remain your responsibility (or that of your board). You must make these decisions independently of us. We accept no responsibility where decision-making is delegated by you or your officers to others in connection with our advice.
We are not responsible for any third party who relies on our reports, opinions, recommendations, or advice. You agree to fully indemnify us against any claim arising from such reliance, unless we have expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
6. Our professional obligations
a) We will perform our services with due care and diligence and will comply with all relevant professional codes of conduct throughout the course of our engagement, including all professional and ethical standards of the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board, available at apesb.org.au.
b) You acknowledge that if any non‑compliance with professional codes of conduct on our part may result in significant harm, including serious consequences for investors, creditors, employees, auditors, group auditors, or the public, we may be required to report the matter to the appropriate authority.
c) The Services we provide are not legal services and our advice does not constitute legal advice.
d) Obligations under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA)
All tax agent services we provide are regulated by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). As a registered Tax Agent with the TPB, we comply with all requirements of TASA, including the TPB Code of Professional Conduct (‘TPB Code’), as well as all other laws and regulations that govern the provision of our services to you.
Under TASA, we are required to advise you of the following:
i. TPB Register: The TPB maintains a searchable public register of tax and BAS agents, which you can access at https://www.tpb.gov.au. This register includes details of any past breaches of the TPB Code, as well as any specific conditions or sanctions that may apply to a registered agent. Guidance on how to use the TPB Register is available on the TPB website.
ii. Complaints: If you wish to raise a concern about our services, you may do so in accordance with Clause 21 of our Terms and Conditions. Alternatively, you can lodge a complaint directly with the TPB using the TPB complaints form available on their website. Further information about the TPB complaints process can be found at https://www.tpb.gov.au/making-complaint.
iii. False and Misleading Statements: We are required under TASA to take appropriate steps if we identify any false or misleading statements in connection with your tax affairs. In serious cases, this may mean we are required to withdraw from the engagement and end our professional relationship with you, notify the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or the TPB, and take any further action reasonably necessary to act in the public interest.
In such cases, we may terminate the engagement immediately, as permitted under Clause 14 of our Terms and Conditions, which entitles us to payment for all work performed and costs incurred up to the date of termination.
iv. Verification of Identity: Both the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) require us, as registered tax agents, to verify the identity of our clients, as well as the identity and authority of any individuals acting on their behalf, before we commence an engagement.
These verification activities are typically completed prior to entering into an engagement with you and may involve the use of third-party digital verification services.
After an engagement has commenced, any changes to your organisation or key contacts may require us to undertake further identity verification before continuing to provide our services. Additional information about these requirements is available on the TPB website.
v. Independence: It is our responsibility to notify you in writing of any circumstances or relationships that may create a threat to our independence, a conflict of interest, or otherwise compromise our ability to meet our ethical responsibilities.
If such a matter arises, we will assess it promptly and, where necessary, undertake appropriate conflict checks.
You agree that if any such matters are identified after the completion of our initial conflict checks or at any time during the engagement, we may terminate the engagement without penalty in order to comply with our ethical obligations
7. Processing Payments
Where our Services include establishing and processing payments to third parties on your behalf, you acknowledge and agree that:
a) You will ensure that you will provide us with accurate and comprehensive payment details, including but not limited to the account any payment will be made from, recipient account details, amount and frequency of any payment (Payment Details);
b) You acknowledge and agree that we will rely on all information provided to you as being complete, accurate and up to date. We will not verify the accuracy of any information you provide to us and we are entitled to reasonably rely on and use the information you provide to us in the course of providing requested services to you.
c) You must promptly check the Payment Details and approve same in the manner requested by us from time to time;
d) You are solely responsible for approving the Payment Details and any payment which has been scheduled by our office on your behalf and pursuant to your instructions;
e) once you have confirmed the Payment Details, we rely on the Payment Details at your sole risk;
f) to the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss or damage suffered by you or any third party arising from us processing any payment using the Payment Details. You unconditionally indemnify us and our officers, employees, and agents in respect of any loss (including but not limited to direct, indirect or consequential losses and legal costs on a full indemnity basis), costs, expenses, liability or damages arising from our reliance on the accuracy of the Payment Details provided by you.
g) the processing of any payments using the Payment Details will also be subject to the provisions of any tailored policies, protocols or procedures document which may be provided to you by us prior to any payments being processed.
7. Consumer Law
We acknowledge that where the Australian Consumer Law applies, there are certain consumer guarantees that apply to our Services.
Nothing in the Terms is to be interpreted as excluding, restricting, or modifying the application of any State or Federal legislation applicable to the supply of Services which cannot be so excluded, restricted or modified.
8. Conflicts of interest
We will inform you if we become aware of any conflict of interest relating to the provision of our Services to you, including members of your board, where applicable.
Where conflicts are identified which cannot be managed in a way that protects your interests, then we will be unable to provide further services to some or all of the persons to whom our Engagement Letter applies. If this arises, we will inform you promptly in writing.
9. Payment Terms
Our invoices are due for payment within fourteen (14) days of issue. Unless otherwise agreed, we will invoice you monthly in respect of the Services provided. Any queries about relating to our fees must be raised within 14 days of issue of our invoice.
Unless otherwise agreed to the contrary, our fees do not include the costs of any disbursements such as legal counsel, or other professionals or third parties engaged with your prior written approval. All disbursements are payable in addition to our fees. You are responsible and will remain liable for payment of all fees, disbursements and ancillary charges, notwithstanding that we may agree with you that a third party will pay these amounts.
We will provide you with notice of any anticipated disbursements and charges and will seek your prior consent before incurring these costs on your behalf.
We may suspend our Services or to cease to act for you on giving written notice if payment of any fees is unduly delayed without prior written agreement. If you fail to pay any amount owing to us, we may require immediate payment of that amount, together with any interest, charges, and legal fees we incur on a full indemnity basis, as well as all costs and expenses associated with enforcing these terms and recovering the debt from you.
We intend to exercise these rights only where it is fair and reasonable to do so.
10. Confidentiality
We will take all reasonable steps to keep information about you and the the information you provide to us confidential, except where:
a) we need to disclose your information to third party service providers (including auditors of client monies if applicable) or regulatory bodies in performing the Services, other professional advisers, or insurers or as part of an external peer review from time to time. Our files may also be subject to review as part of the quality review program of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. By accepting the Terms and our Engagement Letter you acknowledge that, if requested, our files relating to this engagement will be made available under this program. We will take reasonable steps to ensure any such recipient (other than a regulatory body) keeps such information confidential on the same basis;
b) we are required by law, regulation, a court of competent authority, or our professional obligations, to disclose your information; or
c) you give us permission to disclose the information.
We may retain your information during and after our engagement to comply with our legal requirements or as part of our regular IT back-up and archiving practices. We will continue to hold such information confidentially.
11. Ownership of materials
We own the copyright and all other intellectual property rights in everything we create in connection with this Agreement. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, anything we create in connection with the provision of our Services may only be used for the purpose for which you have engaged us.
All working papers prepared by us (in any form whatsoever, including physical and electronic) remain our property. We will retain these papers in accordance with our normal record keeping practices in accordance with our professional and legal obligations.
12. Limitation of liability
Our cumulative liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation (Scheme). Where the Scheme does ot apply, our liability is limited to an amount that is the lesser of 3 times the fees paid to us in relation to the Services, or $2 Million.
You agree that any liability for indirect, special, or consequential losses or damages, including but not limited to any loss of revenue profit, Goodwill or data suffered by you or any third party of any kind is expressly excluded.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, our officers, partners or employees are not liable for, and you indemnify us, our employees and our officers against any liability arising from:
b) indirect, special, or consequential losses or damages suffered by you or any third party of any kind; or
c) any liability arising from
i. the acts or omissions of any other person or circumstances outside our reasonable control and not reasonably foreseeable by us;
ii. your failure to mitigate any loss;
iii. the suspension or termination of the services due to your failure to pay our invoices pursuant to these terms, or as otherwise agreed;
iv. your breach of these Terms or any other terms contained in documents referred to in clause 3 of these Terms.
d) Subject to the Australian Consumer Law, and to the maximum extent permitted by law, our liability for any loss or damage you suffer is limited, at our option, to either:
i. re‑supplying the services to you at our cost; or
ii. paying the cost of having the services re‑supplied to you by a third party.
13. Limitation of Third-Party Rights
Our advice and information is for your sole use, and we accept no responsibility to any third party not identified in our Engagement Letter, unless we have expressly agreed in writing that a specified third party may rely on our Services.
14. Termination
Each of us may terminate this Agreement by giving not less than twenty-one (21) days’ notice in writing to the other party, except where:
a) a conflict of interest has arisen;
b) you fail to adhere to your responsibilities, as set out in Item 1 above;
c) if you fail to pay our invoices;
d) you fail to accept and follow our reasonable advice;
e) We may suspend or cease providing our services if we believe the relationship of trust and confidence between us has been compromised, or if we cannot reasonably comply with our professional conduct rules and obligations in continuing the engagement
in which case we may terminate this Agreement immediately.
Termination by either party to this Agreement will not affect any accrued rights. Any termination. notice sent to you will be deemed to be received by you 24 aftr the notice is sent via email.
15. Communication
You must promptly advise of any changes to your contact details.
We may send any communications to the last contact details you provide to us. Unless you instruct us otherwise, we may, where appropriate, communicate with you and with third parties via email or by other electronic means.
The recipient of our electronic communications is solely responsible for virus checking emails and any attachments. We do not accept any liability in this regard.
You acknowledge that there is a risk of non-receipt, delayed receipt, inadvertent misdirection or interception by third parties in any form of communication, whether electronic, postal or otherwise. We are not responsible for any such matters beyond our control.
Any notice we are required to give to you will be sent via email to the address of the contact person nominated in our Engagement Letter.
Any notice you give to us must be emailed to your Engagement Partner.
16. Applicable Law
These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws in force in the State of Victoria. Each party irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Victoria.
17. Interpretation
If a court or other competent authority determines that a word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, or clause of these Terms is unenforceable, illegal or void then it shall be deemed to be deleted and the other provisions of these Terms will remain in force.
If there is any conflict between the Engagement Letter and these Terms, the Engagement Letter will prevail to the extent of any inconsistency.
18. Taxation services
The responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the particulars and information provided by the client rests with the client. Any advice given to the client is only an opinion based on our knowledge of the client’s particular circumstances. The client must comply with its obligations under self-assessment to keep full and proper records to facilitate the preparation of accurate tax returns.
19. Variation
These Terms may only be varied by written agreement between both parties. If a variation is required to comply with changes in the law, professional standards, or regulations, we will notify you in writing of the change and the date it takes effect.
Nothing in these Terms prevents us from making other variations, provided we give you reasonable prior written notice.
20. Technology & Artificial Intelligence
a) We may use a range of technologies, including cloud‑based services, third‑party platforms, and artificial intelligence (AI), to enhance the efficiency, quality, and delivery of our services. These technologies may be used by us and our employees in accordance with our internal policies, as updated from time to time.
b) The use of AI tools will never replace the professional care, judgment, and diligence we apply in providing our services. Instead, AI may be used as a support tool to improve efficiency and accuracy.
c) You acknowledge and agree that:
i. Cloud and Platforms: We may use platforms to store, back up, and share documents and information, including making them accessible to you. While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no technology can be guaranteed to be completely secure. The use of these technologies carries inherent risks of data breaches, unauthorised access, or cyberattacks, which you accept as part of our engagement.
ii. Third‑Party Services and Privacy Policies: Some of the technologies we use are supplied by third parties and are subject to their own terms of use and privacy policies. By accessing or using these platforms (including where you click on external links or log in to third‑party services), you agree to be bound by those third parties’ terms and privacy policies in relation to how your personal information is collected, stored, and used. When you engage with those third‑party platforms, you do so at your own risk. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for third‑party websites, platforms, or software, including any viruses, malware, or other issues arising from their use.
iii. Personal Information: By engaging us, you consent to our use of the personal information you provide to us in connection with the technologies we use, including cloud storage, platforms, and AI systems, strictly in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection laws.
d) We will always use technology responsibly, in line with our professional obligations, and with reasonable safeguards to protect your information
21. Disputes and complaints
If you have any concerns about our costs or Services, please raise this with the person responsible for our engagement with you, who is identified in our Engagement Letter.
A party to these Terms will not start arbitration or court proceedings (except proceedings seeking urgent interlocutory relief) in respect of a dispute arising out of these Terms (dispute) unless it notifies the other party to these Terms in writing, giving details of the dispute.
a) The parties will have fourteen (14) days to use their best efforts to resolve the dispute in good faith (Initial Period). The parties will appoint appropriately senior personnel to attempt to resolve the dispute in good faith during the Initial Period.
b) If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute within the Initial Period, each party agrees that the dispute must be referred for mediation in accordance with the Mediation Rules of the Law Institute of Victoria. Mediation is to be held with a mediator agreed on by the parties, or, failing agreement within seven (7) days after the expiry of the Initial Period, a mediator nominated by the then current President of the Law Institute of Victoria.
c) The role of any mediator is to assist in negotiating a resolution of the dispute. A mediator may not make a decision that is binding on a Disputant unless that Disputant has so agreed in writing.
d) Each party to a dispute must bear its own costs of complying with this clause and the parties must bear equally the costs of any mediator and mediation venue engaged.
Only where the parties fail to resolve the dispute after mediating in good faith in accordance with this clause may a party issue any proceedings.