October was another big month! Well done everyone. Lodgements are still coming in thick and fast, and it’s been great to see you all doing so well! Congratulations on keeping the momentum going. Five record months in a row is no small feat.
A quick housekeeping note before we dive in: I’ll be doing a quarterly access review soon. If I haven’t heard from you in a while, your access may be paused until we’ve had a quick catch-up.
You can book a call if that applies to you. It’s just to make sure everyone still active stays connected.
In this update, we’ll cover tax return due dates, Christmas parties and closures, adding clients to XPM, and a few reminders to help wrap up the year smoothly.
Tax Return Due Dates
31 October Returns Lodgement Deferral We’ve applied for deferrals for all 31 October returns. The new due date is 15 December 2025.
To make sure we lodge on time, please send your completed returns by 30 November 2025.
Why it matters Last year we had a rush and several returns missed the deadline. This year, we’re keeping it simple: if we don’t receive a complete return for review at least 2 weeks before the due date, we’ll assume the engagement has ended for that client. It’s a compliance requirement, we just can’t risk late lodgements.
Due Dates Most returns are due 15 May 2026, with some falling between January and April. As a general rule, aim to have everything ready two weeks before the due date.
I’ll send out a list later this week of who’s in the 31 October batch. In early December, you’ll get another list with all other due dates.
BAS Lodgement Dates
September 2025 Quarter – due 25 November 2025 Send for review by 11 November 2025.
December 2025 Quarter – due 28 February 2026 Send for review by 14 February 2026.
IAS Lodgement Dates
October 2025 – due 21 November 2025 Send for review by 7 November 2025.
November 2025 – due 21 December 2025 Send for review by 7 December 2025
January 2026 – due 21 February 2026 Send for review by 7 February 2026.
February 2026 – due 21 March 2026 Send for review by 7 March 2026.
Christmas Party
We’re wrapping up the year with an in-person Christmas catch-up. A mix of learning, networking, and a good meal to finish the year strong.
Sydney: Tuesday 18 November 2025 Melbourne: Thursday 20 November 2025 All sessions held in the CBD.
We’ll kick off at 2:00pm with a 3-hour tax Q&A and training session, followed by dinner at 6:00pm.
During the day, I’ll also be offering optional one-on-one sessions. This is a chance to go through your client work, tricky tax questions, or business plans in more detail.
The booking link will show all available dates, so make sure you select the right one for your city
RSVP by Thursday 13 November via return email so we can confirm numbers for dinner.
I’ll also be heading to Brisbane in early 2026, and possibly Adelaide and/or Perth if there’s enough interest, so let me know if you’d like me to visit your city next.
Christmas Closure Dates
We’ll be closing for the Christmas break from 4:00pm Friday 19 December 2025.
Join us for virtual drinks at 3:00pm (AEDT) before we log off for the year (invite to be sent later this week).
The office will reopen Monday 12 January 2026.
No tax returns will be lodged or payments made during this period, so please make sure all work is finalised and funds received well before the closure date.
The final payment run will be Wednesday 17th December, and the next payment run will be Tuesday 13 January.
Emails won’t be monitored during the break, so if anything’s urgent, please get in touch before Friday 19 December.
Getting in Touch
A quick reminder on the best way to reach us and keep things running smoothly. Whether you’ve got a quick question or need to book a session, here’s how to get in touch.
This inbox is monitored more actively and helps us keep everything in one place, so your questions get answered faster.
Please don’t copy in my personal email. It just clogs the inbox and actually slows things down. Everything runs smoother when messages come through the shared address.
We’ve now got a better system for managing event invites (like drop-in sessions, Christmas Parties).
Instead of resending updated invites every time someone’s added, you can now access all upcoming sessions directly through this link: 👉 View the calendar here
Adding Clients
A reminder that all clients must be added to Xero Practice Manager (XPM) before being added to the ATO portal.
Each client must have a signed Letter of Engagement and verified ID before they’re added to either system.
Any client sitting on the ATO portal but not in XPM will be removed.
We’ll now be doing this at the end of every month, with the next clean-up happening by the end of next week, so if you have added a client to the portal, but not XPM, please do so by then otherwise they will be removed.
When adding clients, make sure you include:
ABN
TFN
Legal name (not business or trading name)
This information is how we confirm clients are correctly set up in XPM.
If these details are missing, it appears the client hasn’t been added, they’ll be removed from the portal.
That’s a fair bit to take in this month: accountants’ letters, workpapers, Xero certification, groups, and letters of engagement. None of it’s rocket science, but all of it keeps the wheels turning smoothly.
The short version: get certified, keep your workpapers tight, and don’t skip the compliance steps. Do that and you’ll make life easier for yourself and me.
As always, if you get stuck, don’t go quiet — drop a review point, reach out, or fire up the chatbot.
