Subject
CTA3 Advisory
Demonstrate your tax expertise and advisory skills
Staying current and well-equipped to advise clients on complex, dynamic business transactions is essential for tax professionals. To excel in this field, you must demonstrate innovation, agility, and the ability to synthesise substantial volumes of information effectively.
Successfully completing this rigorous subject can lead to the highly regarded, internationally recognised Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) designation, provided all other program requirements are met. For further details, please refer to the TTI website.
Following completion of CTA1 Foundations, CTA2A Advanced, and CTA2B Advanced, CTA3 Advisory is the final subject in the CTA Program. If you have previously undertaken relevant study at another institution, you may also qualify for recognition of prior learning for certain subjects within the CTA Program. Upon completing the full CTA Program, you may be eligible for six units of credit as recognition of prior learning towards a Master of Taxation at UNSW.
CTA3 Advisory adopts a distinctive approach compared to earlier subjects. It immerses you in real-world problem-solving scenarios across multiple tax specialisations through practice case study discussions, each facilitated by an expert in that area. Prior to the exam, you will prepare an initial client-ready Letter of Advice based on your research on your selected tax topic. During the exam, you will be required to incorporate supplementary information into your original Letter of Advice – reflecting the dynamic nature of real client engagements.
To summarise, in CTA3 Advisory, you will:
- Work through simulated real-life situations using practice case studies on a range of tax topics and choose one to focus on in your Letter of Advice and exam.
- Self-direct your learning and focus on the need to apply tax law to your client’s specific commercial circumstances.
- Gain the skills used by leading tax professionals to remain at the forefront of the profession and advance your career.
Your assessment will simulate a real-life scenario:
- You will research the relevant law and prepare advice (in the form of a Letter of Advice (LOA)) to your client based on a real-life scenario.
- Under exam conditions, you will be required to update your LOA in response to supplementary information provided on the day of the exam, just as your client might in real life.
To enrol into CTA3 Advisory, you must have prior experience in:
- Writing a Letter of Advice for clients (some guides/samples are provided).
- At least one of the main Case Study Topics:
- Small Business CGT
- International Tax
- Corporate Tax
- Trusts and Small Business CGT
- Goods and Services Tax
- Referring to and applying relevant taxation legislation, cases, guidelines and procedures and determining their relevance to specific client taxation issues.
- Analysing and evaluating potential alternative solutions and presenting these in a concise and professional manner.
- Supervising the preparation of more complicated ATO submissions and communications.
To enrol in CTA3 Advisory, you must have successfully completed CTA2A and CTA2B Advanced and have three years of Australian tax experience.
To become a Chartered Tax Adviser, you must have successfully passed CTA3 Advisory and meet The Tax Institute's membership requirements. Find out more.
CTA3 Advisory is offered twice annually (Study Period 1 and Study Period 2), with each study period spanning 14 weeks.
The exact dates for each study period can be found on the TTIHE Timetable.
- Subjects1
- Credit Points6
- LevelAdvanced
- Cost$2,595
- CPD120 hours
- DeliveryOnline
- Study Periods3 per year
- Study Per Week10-14 hours
- Subject PrerequisitesATL001, ATL003 and ATL004 (or equivalent) | 36 months relevant Australian tax or tax law experience
- Video 1
- Video 2
- Video 3
CTA3 Advisory immerses professionals in the real-life problem solving situations (across different tax specialisations) presented through in-depth case study discussion sessions.
Who is this for?
- mid to senior level experienced advisory professional
- divisional or senior tax manager
- investment banker or structured finance consultant
- partner or senior associate lawyer
- reaching the Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) designation
- senior lecturer or professor
- tax counsel
- tax director or head of tax
Entry requirements
To enrol in CTA3 Advisory, you’ll need to be eligible to be a Fellow Member of The Tax Institute and have at least 36 months’ relevant Australian tax or tax law experience.
You’ll also need to have completed CTA1 Foundations, CTA2A Advanced and CTA2B Advanced subjects (or equivalent qualifications) and meet English language requirements if you have previously studied in a language other than English.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the reading for CTA3 Advisory, candidates will be able to:
- refer to and apply relevant taxation legislation, cases, guidelines and procedures and determine their relevance to specific client taxation issues
- interpret tax legislation, guidelines and procedures and apply them to source material
- understand and apply analytical and technical skills to documents and information where relevant, and determine alternative solutions
- analyse and evaluate potential alternative solutions and present these in a concise and professional manner that differentiates alternative tax issues and provides logical, reasoned support for the conclusions and advice.
Modules
CTA3 Advisory is based on four case studies across a variety of tax specialisations, covering:
- Small Business CGT
- GST
- International tax
- Corporate tax
The case studies are designed to present applied problems in tax practice: they mirror real life and have intersecting tax law issues that you must identify and consider to arrive at a correct solution.
Assessment structure
- Draft solutions - pass mark n/a Weighting for overall mark 0%
- Letter of Advice - pass mark n/a Weighting for overall mark 0%
- Exam - pass mark 70% Weighting for overall mark 100%
Draft solutions - Participation during the subject is assessed by the submission of draft solutions for each case study. Draft solutions should mirror content which is normally included in a client’s letter of advice. In addition, it can include the candidate’s thoughts and reflections about the case study.
Assignment, Letter of Advice - Each candidate must select one of several case studies from the published Assignment Booklet and prepare a Letter of Advice that addresses the tax problems posed in the selected case study.
Exam, Late Breaking Fact - The format of the exam is an amended Letter of Advice developed in response to a ‘Late Breaking Fact’, which is provided at the beginning of the supervised exam.
Please note that all assessment tasks must be passed in order to complete the subject.
Online study - takes place over a twenty four week study period. Upon Commencement, candidates begin working on Draft Solutions to four Practice Case Studies, and join a live Online Group Discussion for each Case Study facilitated by a tax expert. Candidates use an online learning platform to access Practice Case Studies, upload their Draft Solutions, and access revision and research materials. A subject Convenor, or tax expert, is available via email to answer tax-technical queries and candidates receive administrative support from the Subject Coordinator.
Six weeks before the Final Exam, candidates receive an Assessment Booklet, with a list of new case studies. Candidates choose and write a Letter of Advice in response to one of these case studies, uploading their Letter of Advice on exam day. Candidates receive new information about their chosen case study, and must spend the exam responding to a Late Breaking Fact.
Intensive Online study - takes place over a twelve week study period. Upon Commencement, candidates begin working on Draft Solutions to four Practice Case Studies due in Week 4 of the course. Over one week in Week 5, candidates join a live Online Group Discussion for each Case Study facilitated by a tax expert. Candidates use an online learning platform to access Practice Case Studies, upload their Draft Solutions, and access revision and research materials. A subject Convenor, or tax expert, is available via email to answer tax-technical queries and candidates receive administrative support from the Subject Coordinator.
Six weeks before the Final Exam, candidates receive an Assessment Booklet, with a list of new case studies. Candidates choose and write a Letter of Advice in response to one of these case studies, uploading their Letter of Advice on exam day. Candidates receive new information about their chosen case study, and must spend the exam responding to a Late Breaking Fact.
Resources made available to a candidate (excluding Assessment-Only study) are:
- access to an online learning portal
- case studies for study sessions
- access to Legal Research and Reasoning course
- access to the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA 2009) and the Code of Professional Conduct
- complimentary subscription to The Tax Institute’s Tax Knowledge Exchange library of resources for the duration of the subject
- access to an online Candidate Support Centre
- exam preparation resources including sample Letter of Advice email access to the subject convenor for technical questions
- support from senior tax lecturers and presenters
Recognition of prior learning (RPL)
RPL is a process for providing candidates credit for learning or qualifications completed before your enrolment with The Tax Institute Higher Education.
To apply for RPL (fee $215), please complete the RPL form. Evidence of your qualifications will need to be provided with this application.
Please view our current timetable.
ATL004 CTA2B Advanced
For the latest subject fees, please refer to the latest TTI Higher Education Schedule of Fees, which can also be accessed from the Study Timetable.
All Tax Institute Higher Education candidates are eligible to receive Education Membership of The Tax Institute for $235 (saving $391) upon enrolment until 30 June in the subsequent calendar year. Member fees attract GST and price quoted is inclusive of GST.
Please refer to the Candidate Care Guide where you'll find information on our policies.
