Candice Barnett is a Director in Deloitte’s national Indirect Taxes practice, based in Melbourne. Candice has been advising clients on GST matters for over 20 years, including 6 years working in VAT litigation with Deloitte UK and a secondment in the ATO’s Dispute Resolution practice. Candice has a technical focus in financial services and advises a broad range of clients including superannuation funds, investment funds as well as retail and inbound banks.

Candice is also one of the leaders of Deloitte’s National Trust and Governance Centre of Excellence and has extensive experience supporting clients subject to ATO GST assurance reviews. Candice works closely with clients to help identify and implement enhancements to the GST risk management framework and embed key processes and controls to better align with ATO better practice requirements. Candice has undertaken tax controls testing, and data testing, for some of Australia’s largest and most complex organisations including two secondments with a Top 100 client to undertake tax controls testing as part of the internal audit team.

Cameron is a partner and the Head of Tax at Corrs, and a leading transactional tax expert, specialising in mergers, acquisitions, and restructures. He has particular expertise with the tax complexities related to mergers, acquisitions and restructures. He also has expertise on capital management (both debt and equity), cross-border issues, and all aspects of employee share schemes.

He has recently participated in ATO consultation on the new thin capitalisation provisions, the new equity funded dividend provisions, and the ATO approach to royalties/IP migration.

He regularly presents at The Tax Institute and the Corporate Tax Association on M&A, thin capitalisation,  management incentive plans and international tax issues and demergers.

Cameron has been recognised as a leading lawyer by legal directories and publications including Chambers, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Best Lawyers for Tax in Australia and Doyle’s Guide. He is a member of the Property Council tax committee, Tax Institute large business committee and the CPA Centre of Excellence.

Jinny is a Partner in the State taxes practice at Herbert Smith Freehils Kramer with over 20 years’ experience advising on stamp duty issues Australia-wide. Her work involves structuring and implementing transactions, as well as helping clients with risk management, compliance and audit issues. Her clients include those in finance, funds management, private capital, healthcare, real estate, infrastructure, energy, renewables and mining industries.

Stephen Chen is a Partner in the MinterEllison tax practice, specialising in Tax Controversy. Stephen advises a significant number of the world’s largest multinationals and ASX 50 listed companies on managing their tax audits and disputes. Stephen also frequently instructs in high profile Australian tax litigation for taxpayers in all jurisdictions.

Brad spent over 30 years with the ATO, where he rose to Assistant Commissioner and a delegated Competent Authority. His role spanned audit, investigation and senior leadership roles including membership of the Public Groups & International executive

Brad was responsible for overseeing the full spectrum of domestic and cross-border tax risk in Australia’s large-market segment, and has significant experience settling bilateral disputes, including some of Australia's largest transfer-pricing disputes.

Tim is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Tax in Sydney. He specializes in post-deal integration, helping finance and tax functions ensure that value is created and preserved in a transaction context.

Tim brings a unique perspective to transaction implementation matters, ensuring that exit, auditor and tax authority readiness are front of mind. He has a deep understanding of the key integration interdependencies for finance functions across tax, valuations, reporting and technology. His notable projects include the $4 billion acquisition of a renewable energy platform by a family office, the $10 billion acquisition of a gaming and real estate conglomerate by private equity, the $5 billion acquisition of an infrastructure portfolio by a private consortium, and the $10 billion takeover of a multinational F&B business.

Tim has extensive experience providing tax advisory and compliance services to large corporates and private equity portfolio companies. He navigates companies from transaction through to post-acquisition reporting and compliance and has worked on deals from $10 million to $10 billion. He has acted as both advisor and interim head of tax on these transactions.

Mathew is a Senior Associate at Clayton Utz specialising in taxation law, with experience advising on complex tax structuring, compliance, and risk management. He has a strong track record of providing tailored advice on corporate and trust taxation (including international taxation issues) to clients across industries and profiles, including large commercial enterprises, various funds and high net worth individuals.  He also represented clients in the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia and various State Supreme Courts in a variety of commercial and taxation disputes.

Chris is an Australian Legal Practitioner at Deloitte who has considerable experience in the fields of international tax, taxation of intangible arrangements, tax administration and tax controversy. Chris’ specialist advice is informed by his time advising clients at Deloitte coupled with his varied experience whilst performing Assistant Commissioner roles at the Australian Taxation Office.

Chris’ experience allows him to expertly advise clients in respect of:

• current issues and risk associated with the taxation of intangible arrangements, including the consideration of the transfer pricing and anti-avoidance provisions;
• administrator expectations regarding tax compliance and governance procedures; and
• ATO engagement, tax controversy and complex dispute resolution strategies.

Luke Furness is a Special Counsel at Clayton Utz with extensive expertise in tax disputes, corporate and shareholder disputes, and general commercial litigation.

Luke has acted in significant and complex tax disputes, including representing Resource Capital Funds in income tax matters before the Federal Court and High Court. He has also advised the Commissioner of State Revenue in various State tax disputes, such as payroll tax appeals and duties disputes in the Supreme Court. His deep understanding of tax law allows him to break down complex technical issues and identify critical details that drive dispute outcomes.

Renowned for his strategic thinking and focus on commercial realities, Luke is a collaborative team player who works seamlessly across multiple partners and is committed to mentoring junior lawyers.

In recognition of his achievements, Luke was named Special Counsel of the Year at the 2024 Lawyers Weekly Law Awards and included in Queensland’s 40 Under 40.

Bastian is a specialist GST adviser at Minter Ellison with over 20 years' experience advising Australian and foreign companies, government departments, and infrastructure funds. He has expertise in transaction structuring, GST compliance reviews, input tax credit recovery, GST audits, investigations and objections, and cross-border transactions.  Bastian is the chair of the Tax Institute of Australia's GST committee and a member of the ATO's GST Stewardship Group.

 Jeremy is a senior member of MinterEllison's Tax Controversy team and has over 20 years' tax experience, managing large and complex tax controversy matters at the risk review and audit stages, as well as in the conduct of tax litigation. His experience includes senior roles at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) where he was the Deputy Commissioner for Review and Dispute Resolution and as a tax controversy partner at a Big 4 accounting firm.

Jeremy brings his experience from the ATO, leading objections and tax controversy, together with many years of experience working directly with local and cross-border clients. Jeremy provides unique insights into the management and resolution of contentious issues with the ATO and advises clients on how to navigate complex engagements with the ATO.

Jeremy has been responsible for the conduct of tax and tax related litigation in a number of significant tax disputes in the Federal and High Court. He was formerly a practising barrister, appearing across all courts for both taxpayers and the Commissioner. Bringing this experience together, he now works with clients to resolve their disputes as early as possible, whilst at the same time ensuring their case is well prepared for litigation, should it result. 

Rob has over 35 years’ of diverse experience in the Australian Public Service, leading to his current role as Commissioner of Taxation since 2024. His career spans across policy development and program delivery in varied portfolios, and he has represented Australia in international forums including the United Nations, the International Energy Agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Rob is regarded as one of the nation’s most experienced tax experts, and for almost two decades his interest and expertise in economics and tax policy has led to senior executive roles at the Australian Taxation Office and Commonwealth Treasury.

Rob holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tasmania, and a Graduate Diploma of Economics from the Australian National University.

Georgie is a Partner with the Australian International Tax team, based in Melbourne. Georgie has more than 30 years of experience working in transfer pricing in Australia.   Georgie leads the Australian Country by Country reporting centre of excellence that services over 1400 clients annually across all industries.

The CbC centre of excellence provides a consistent approach that leverages automation and AI to ensure that all CbC reporting is completed utilising best practice approaches and leverages from our experiences with the ATO CbC team. The centralised CbC team allows for the collation and analysis of key reporting data across our clients which enables us to provide valuable insights and peer analysis in respect of country-by-country reporting and key transfer pricing issues and risk areas.

Georgie is the  Asia Pacific Technology lead for Transfer Pricing and sits on the global transfer pricing technology steering committee and therefore brings an indepth knowledge of our key technology platforms to ensure that all projects are completed in the most efficient, collaborative and robust manner.

Luke is a partner at Corrs. He is an experienced tax lawyer specialising in the provision of income tax controversy advice and dispute resolution services.

He advises large domestic and multinational taxpayers throughout the entire tax dispute lifecycle – from pre and post ATO engagement during large M&A transactions, through to assisting taxpayers prepare for, and resolve, complex ATO reviews, audits and disputes. Luke has extensive experience advising on the application of Australia’s thin capitalisation provisions, including the application of the new debt deduction creation rule.

Luke’s focus is on private sector taxpayers in the real property and infrastructure sectors, ranging from owners and operators of real estate and infrastructure assets to investors in infrastructure projects, including pension and private equity funds.

Luke is known for his strong technical expertise, critical thinking and commercial solutions which lead to the resolution of complex income tax issues. He is named as a key lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and is a committee member for a number of The Tax Institute events, where he regularly presents on emerging income tax issues.

Angelina is a market-leading tax controversy practitioner specialising in tax litigation and dispute resolution, with over 20 years’ expertise in complex, large-scale audits and disputes.

She advises across the full life cycle of a tax controversy and disputes process, from ATO early engagement, reviews, audits, objections, GAAR, settlement and litigation in the Federal Court, High Court and AAT.

Angelina is trusted advisor to a range of taxpayers, including large corporations (public and private groups) and multinationals, across a range of industries including financial services, technology, corporates, superannuation, energy, mining and resources, pharmaceutical/health, infrastructure and private equity.

She is recognised as a key lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Best Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal, and has been awarded the International Tax Review 2023 Tax Disputes and Litigation Practice Leader of the Year.

Stuart is a partner at PwC where he specialises in international tax and the taxation of mergers and acquisitions. He has over 19 years of experience, including over five years spent in New York leading PwC's Australian tax desk advising US multinational corporations and funds in respect of their investments in Australia, and advising Australian companies investing into the United States. 

His practice is broadly industry agnostic, but he has a particular focus advising companies in the technology industry (including related data centre infrastructure) and the energy and resources sector, as well as asset managers and asset allocators. Functionally, Stuart advises on all aspects of international tax with a particular focus on matters pertaining to debt and intangibles and on a broad range of transactions, including acquisitions and divestments. 

Stuart speaks on a wide range of tax matters for organisations including the CTA, the Tax Institute and the MCA and is a member of the AmCham Tax Committee. He has also been known to post on LinkedIn from time to time.

Ryan is a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer who advises on the income tax aspects of a broad range of corporate, international and trust matters.

Ryan has experience in advising on the income tax aspects of a broad range of corporate, international and trust matters, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, internal restructures and disputes. He has also lectured in the University of Melbourne Masters of Laws program and written and presented a number of technical papers.

Tim Lynch, is a tax partner at MinterEllison, specialising in corporate tax advice concerning mergers, acquisitions, divestments, structuring, financing and capital management for Australian and multinational clients across all sectors, but primarily in the resources and renewable sector.

Geoff Mann is a Principal in the Deloitte Indirect Taxes team located in Melbourne.  He advises on indirect tax with particular emphasis on goods and services tax, stamp duty, land tax and other real property taxes. Geoff's tax experience spans over 35 years, and he has advised a wide range of clients, across a range of industries and transaction types and issues, across all Australian jurisdictions.

Geoff deals regularly with and maintains a good relationship with all Australian revenue authorities. Geoff has represented clients in various tax litigation and dispute matters.

Geoff's multi-skilling across tax areas, his dual legal and accounting qualifications and his practical exposure to legal drafting, place him in a unique position to assist clients with complex tax issues, including corporate restructures, prudential reviews, due diligences, transaction structuring and implementation, liaison with and managing disputes with revenue authorities.

Carmen is a partner and the National Head of the Tax Controversy practice at MinterEllison and has over 30 years of experience in managing large and complex tax controversy matters at the risk review, audit stages, and in the conduct of tax litigation.

Stefanie Merlino is a Partner in BDO’s Global Expatriate & Employment Taxes team based in Melbourne and has over 18 years of employment tax experience. Stefanie specialises in all aspects of employment tax compliance and consulting, and has built deep and longstanding relationships with clients as a trusted adviser with expertise in Fringe Benefits Tax, Superannuation Guarantee, Payroll Tax, WorkCover, Pay-As-You-Go Withholding and contractor management. Stefanie has a positive and focused approach to her interactions with clients and places an emphasis on the value of strong relationships built on clear communication, collaboration and integrity.

Rimma is a partner in the Tax Practice at MinterEllison. Rimma has more than 20 years' experience in tax controversy, and helps clients navigate taxation reviews, audits and objections, as well as other tax-related disputes. Rimma is focussed on achieving early resolution of tax disputes and is experienced in alternative dispute resolution. Rimma is also an experienced litigator, having successfully represented clients in all federal and state jurisdictions and having run a significant number of high profile tax cases.

Sharon is a tax controversy partner at Deloitte with 18 years’ experience in corporate income tax matters. Prior to joining Deloitte, Sharon was an Assistant Commissioner at the ATO in the Tax Counsel Network and Public Groups & International segment responsible for the private and public rulings program where she provided tax certainty on large-market transactions and international tax issues.  

She also managed the resolution of a number of strategic technical risks. Her experience includes advising on all stages of the dispute cycle with expertise in early engagement and dispute resolution particularly in respect of cross-border issues for large multinational clients.

Shahzeb Panhwar (Shaz) is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Tax in Melbourne. He leads the firm’s Transfer Pricing team. Shaz advises clients on inbound/outbound flows of debt, business restructuring, management of intangibles and helps clients navigate the dispute landscape.  

With more than 18 years of experience, Shaz has assisted clients in various industries ranging from capital-intensive industries such as oil and gas, mining and infrastructure to intangible-driven industries such as technology and consumer goods. 

Prior to joining A&M, Shaz spent two years as a Partner with PWC Australia in its Tax Controversy practice, assisting clients with managing revenue authority interactions. Previously, he spent almost eight years with the Australian Taxation Office, serving most recently as an Assistant Commissioner and leading the International Tax Structuring practice. Shaz was responsible for related party financing, thin capitalisation, procurement hubs, anti-hybrid provisions and Pillar 2. He was also a competent authority and negotiated some of Australia’s largest APAs and MAPs.

Hugh leads Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s Tax Disputes team in Australia which has won multiple awards as the leading Tax Litigation and Disputes practice in Australia. Hugh has practised in the area since 2002. His key focus areas are international tax, transfer pricing and anti-avoidance. He is the instructing solicitor in the Oracle matter before the Full Federal Court.

Kati Pedersen is a Director in the Deloitte Indirect Taxes team located in Melbourne, with over 20 years of experience in advising on the technical and commercial implications of Australian GST, as well as VAT in the UK and the EU. Kati is experienced in advising listed and private groups across a full range of GST technical matters and ongoing management of GST obligations. Her experience includes advising on property transactions, business divestments and restructuring, cross border transactions and GST product classification matters, as well as assisting her clients with GST system and process reviews, ATO GST justified trust reviews, and ATO engagement on complex GST matters such as audits, private rulings and objections.

Wayne Plummer is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Tax in Sydney. With over 37 years’ experience in the Australian tax industry, Wayne is well recognized as one of the foremost corporate tax advisors. Wayne has worked on many of Australia’s most iconic corporate transactions and has been a key tax advisor to a number of major Australian and international groups, assisting with their corporate and international tax affairs.

Wayne is recognized as having extensive technical expertise, particularly in the areas of capital management, public company M&A, tax consolidation, tax policy design and application, and purpose-based integrity rules. He has authored a number of technical articles and presented on multiple occasions at industry and technical forums.

Wayne earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Macquarie University in Sydney and a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Technology Sydney. He is also a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and a member of the Tax Institute.

James has over 18 years of international tax and transfer pricing experience across the UK, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, working in Big 4 firms. He served as Director at PwC Vietnam, where he was at the forefront of tax technology and automation, and at EY Sri Lanka where he helped establish and led the transfer pricing practice.

Elissa Romanin is a corporate tax partner at MinterEllison.  She specialises in providing tax structuring, tax due diligence, contract drafting and general income tax advice. Many of the matters she works on involve corporate income tax issues related to mergers and acquisitions, divestments and capital reorganisations.  Elissa is the current Vice Chair of the International Bar Association Taxes Committee.

Rebecca Saint is Deputy Commissioner Public Groups, Client Experience.  Rebecca has a leading role in the Tax Avoidance Taskforce. In her role she is responsible for large market strategy and the compliance and assurance programs for public and multinational groups.

Stephen is an experienced macroeconomist and Partner of Deloitte Access Economics. He leads the Macroeconomic Policy and Forecasting Group of Deloitte Access Economics, setting the firm’s house view on the Australian economic outlook.

As the author of several Deloitte Access Economics subscription publications – including the flagship Business Outlook report – Stephen provides clients and subscribers with a detailed understanding of the Australian and global economic environment. He is a regular media commentator on economic issues and presents to Board and Executive audiences at many of Australia’s leading corporates.

Stephen’s client work spans a broad range of topics including trade, tax and fiscal policy, residential property, financial markets, M&A transactions, productivity, economic reform, and international development. He is an expert in understanding, forecasting and communicating the outlook for the Australian economy, having spent the past two decades working at Access Economics and Deloitte Access Economics.

Manu Sriskantharajah is a Partner in Deloitte’s International Tax Group with over 20 years’ experience advising on the international tax aspects of inbound and outbound investment in Australia for funds and corporate entities. Manu’s expertise lies in cross-border M&A, group re-organisations, financing arrangements and intellectual property licencing, particularly in light of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting measures and Global Anti-Base Erosion Rules. Manu is a regular speaker at tax seminars, client forums, Deloitte’s Asia-Pacific Dbriefs and consults with the Australian Government on international tax reform. Manu holds Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees from the University of Melbourne and is an Australian Legal Practitioner.

Lisa is a partner at PwC's Sydney office and part of the Tax, Reporting & Innovation team. With over 20 years as a tax specialist, she has a wealth of experience advising large multinational corporations on domestic and international tax issues. Her expertise includes helping clients manage the tax accounting implications of transactions and restructures. Additionally, Lisa has held the position of Head of Tax at an ASX listed company and has experience working in tax reporting for a major pharmaceutical company.

Amelia Teng is an international tax partner with 25 years experience across Big 4 and public practice and specialises in advising on tax structuring issues and tax policy reforms. Amelia leads the Deloitte Pillar Two offering for the Australian firm and is part of the global Pillar Two technical leadership group.

She previously worked at the Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Treasury and was involved with leading the implementation of the introduction of OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiatives in Australia. Her considerable experience with the policy and regulatory framework surrounding the implementation of such reforms provides a strong background for the advising on the rapidly evolving Pillar Two legislative landscape.

Amelia is a technical specialist on a number of large multinational clients and works across a number of industries including energy and resources, telecommunications, infrastructure, and retail sectors.

Jayde Thompson is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Tax in Australia. With over 17 years of experience in corporate international taxation, Ms. Thompson is a trusted advisor to foreign investors structuring their Australian investments and Australian corporates expanding offshore. Ms. Thompson works closely with clients to navigate the complexities of the global tax landscape, providing expert guidance on structuring, compliance and risk management in an ever-evolving international tax environment.

Throughout her career, Ms. Thompson has served as the lead international tax advisor for numerous high-profile Australian and global accounts across diverse industries including mining, technology, retail, consumer products, private equity, financial services, infrastructure and manufacturing amongst others.

For the past decade, Ms. Thompson has focused on assisting clients around the globe in navigating the complex tax modeling, structuring and compliance issues arising from the OECD BEPS Action Plan (BEPS 1.0), including associated Australian measures such as the Diverted Profits Tax and Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law, as well as the most recent Pillar Two initiative to implement a global minimum tax (BEPS 2.0).

James is a Tax Partner with BDO in Sydney. He has over 25 years of experience in providing employment tax services to a range of public, private and not-for-profit clients.  With a background combining professional services and inhouse roles, James brings with him extensive experience in managing employer tax obligations, the design and taxation of employee remuneration, such as incentive arrangements and employee share schemes, expatriate taxation and pay compliance.

Ronen is a partner in PwC’s Sydney tax practice and the leader of PwC Australia’s Tax Accounting Services practice. Ronen has been a Tax Accounting specialist for over 10 years and has served as the lead tax partner for numerous statutory audits.

Ronen has extensive expertise in assisting companies to understand the day-to-day tax accounting issues they face, as well as the tax accounting consequences of changes in tax law, accounting standards, and merger and acquisition activity. He is also a frequent presenter on tax accounting at various conferences.

Hang Vo is a Senior Director with Alvarez & Marsal Tax in Melbourne, specialising in corporate international tax. 

Ms. Vo has extensive experience advising large multinational enterprises on complex cross-border arrangements, including inbound and outbound investments, financing, restructures, and ongoing tax compliance. She also has significant expertise in multi-jurisdictional issues, including anti-hybrid rules, cross-border embedded royalties and tax controversy matters. Her clients span sectors such as funds management, technology, infrastructure, retail, financial services, mining, and manufacturing. 

Ms. Vo is an expert on Pillar Two and brings deep technical knowledge and practical experience in Pillar Two readiness and implementation. She regularly assists clients with impact assessments, financial reporting disclosures, data and technology readiness, and Pillar Two implications of corporate structuring and transactions. 

Justin Ward is a Partner and leads the national Deloitte Indirect Taxes team.  He has over 25 years of experience specialising in GST and other indirect taxes advising local and multinational clients across a range of sectors including financial services, consumer and infrastructure.

Justin’s GST experience includes managing GST matters associated with M&A/deal activity, advice on a range of matters often associated with new products or evolving business models, preparing clients for Justified Trust, and assisting clients negotiate outcomes with the ATO associated with reviews, audits or disputes.  Client secondments in a Big 4 bank and a global oil & gas organisation throughout his career has also provided Justin with a genuine understanding of practical issues of GST in a complex commercial environment.

More recently, Justin has been exploring the benefits of AI and automation, and opportunities to transform and simplify the GST compliance process.

David Watkins is a Partner at Deloitte in Sydney and leads the Australian Tax Insights & Policy group. David has worked overseas for a number of years, variously in Malaysia, Singapore and New York.

In his current role, David is regularly involved in tax policy and tax law implementation discussions and consultation with Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office relating to new and emerging Australian tax laws, including those related to the BEPS 1.0 and 2.0 processes.

David has been the Chair of the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) Tax Committee, and a member of the National Tax Liaison Group (NTLG). David has a particular interest in international tax and double tax treaties, has been a guest lecturer at The University of Sydney and is an Honorary Senior Fellow at The University of Melbourne.