Former CA and PwC partner fined $7k for false RDTI claims

On 26 March 2026, CA ANZ’s Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) found that ex-PwC partner Richard Gregg, a former member of the industry body, had breached its code of conduct by being subject to an adverse or unfavourable binding.

While Gregg was no longer a member of CA ANZ at the time of the decision, the PCC found that his conduct would have otherwise resulted in the termination of his membership. It ordered him to pay $7,567 in costs.

In August 2025, the TPB cancelled his registration and banned him from re-applying for a four-year period after finding he was no longer a fit and proper person to be registered as a tax agent.

As part of the PwC tax leaks scandal, it was found that Gregg had made false or misleading statements in applications for the Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) lodged on behalf of clients, in his capacity as partner and R&D specialist.

Based on the investigation, the TPB added that Gregg’s RDTI applications did not meet the eligibility requirements and could not be substantiated, with the lack and failure of scrutiny leading to the significant tax shortfalls and penalties imposed on the clients.

Additionally, Gregg’s behaviour resulted in “significant time and resources being expended by the ATO and Industry Innovation and Science Australia, both of which were responsible for fairly assessing RDTI applications”.

Peter de Cure, TPB chair, said the ATO determined Gregg’s conduct resulted in affected clients being hit with a cumulative tax shortfall of over $11 million and imposed cumulative penalties of over $800,000 across those clients.

CA ANZ noted that Gregg became a Principal at PwC in July 2013 and led its tax incentive group in 2016. In February 2024, he voluntarily retired from his role at PwC, and his eligibility for affiliate membership with CA ANZ ceased.

The PCC said that Gregg did not concede the underlying matters of the TPB decision, but that it only had to be satisfied that he had been subject to an adverse or unfavourable finding concerning his professional conduct.

As such, the TPB’s ruling was sufficient to find that he had breached CA ANZ’s by-laws.

The PCC added that Gregg had demonstrated that he was “not of good fame, integrity and character” and his conduct had been dishonest as he had knowingly made statements in Research & Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) applications lodged on behalf of clients that he knew, or should have known, were false.

The disciplinary committee also found that RDTI claims were made without proper inquiry into the clients’ circumstances, and that Gregg’s conduct could be explained as motivated by self-interest, specifically increased revenues for PwC’s RDTI group, which he led.

CA ANZ found that the conduct found by the TPB was objectively very serious, including negligence and a lack of integrity.

“The above findings strike at the heart of the public’s expectations that when they are dealing with a member of CA ANZ, they are dealing with a person with a high degree of competence and integrity,” disciplinary documents read.