Free tax clinic coming to Alice

Charles Darwin University will run a free tax clinic for members of the public in Alice Springs for the first time this month.

Chair of Accounting and Finance Professor Indra Abeysekera and two accounting students from Darwin will run the clinics at two locations in the central business district between 11am and 3pm on the weekend of 20-21 July.

“These clinics will allow people who do not have their own professional advice to receive assistance from Accounting students under the supervision of academic staff and experienced tax practitioners,” Professor Abeysekera said.

“This gives our students an opportunity to gain practical hands-on experience in dealing with clients in a real-life setting, which is critical to ensuring that our students will be job-ready by the time they have completed their qualification.”

Professor Abeysekera said advice would be available on wide-ranging topics such as tax advisory work, report and filing obligations, debt and payment negotiations and dispute resolution.

“With the focus on unrepresented, lower-income clients and micro and small business owners, we will not be competing with professional tax accountants.”

Professor Abeysekera said clinics, funded with a $100,000 grant from the Australian Tax Office, had been held in Darwin and Palmerston in the past two weeks.

“We are now extending the service to Alice Springs. We see this as a ‘win-win’ for clients and our students, as well as being of benefit to the tax system in general.

“We will welcome walk-ins, but to guarantee a time slot, we’re asking clients to pre-book a time using our online booking form.”

The clinics will be held at Yeperenye Shopping Centre (Saturday) and at Todd Mall Sunday Markets the following day. To make an appointment, click here: W: cdu.edu.au/free-tax-clinic