Australian Taxation

John Bevacqua, LLB, BCom, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Business Law and Taxation at Monash University and Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching) for the Monash Business School. His prior roles include positions as Academic Director of La Trobe Online and Director of Teaching and Learning for the School of Law at La Trobe University. During these roles, John has developed a significant expertise in developing innovative and engaging curriculum for business students studying law subjects. During his academic career, he has been responsible for business law and taxation-related curriculum development, quality assurance and delivery at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. John is an active researcher in tax administration and taxpayer rights and is published regularly in leading Australian and international tax journals. John is also a qualified lawyer admitted to practice in multiple jurisdictions and had a 10-year career as a commercial and tax lawyer, working at top-tier commercial law firms prior to becoming a full-time academic.

Stephen Marsden is a full-time lecturer employed in the Business School at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane. In this role, he is responsible for lecturing and tutoring a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate financial accounting and taxation law subjects. Prior to that, he worked at KPMG for several years in their business advisory and management consultancy divisions. Stephen has a Master of Business (Accountancy) and is a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the National Tax and Accountants Association. He is also a Chartered Tax Adviser of the Taxation Institute of Australia. Over the past 32 years, Stephen has presented numerous professional development seminars and workshops in the areas of financial accounting, taxation, GST and FBT for a range of professional associations, accounting firms, listed companies, non-profit organisations and government departments. Stephen is also a registered tax agent, where he provides tax advice and attends to the taxation affairs of a variety of clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Annette Morgan is an experienced senior lecturer and Clinical Professional at Curtin University, is the Course Lead of Taxation within the Curtin Law School, and is the Director of her own SME accounting practice in Perth. Her substantial practical experience is supported by qualifications in commerce, accounting and taxation, including a Master of Taxation. Professional accreditations include being a Certified Practising Accountant (FCPA) and a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA). Annette’s principal clinical activities are centred around the Curtin Tax Clinic (CTC). As co-founder, Clinic Director, and the registered Tax Agent, she is directly responsible for the continued performance of the CTC as both an educational tool and niche tax practice. This is supplemented by her role as the Study Tour Director for the successful national and international tax study tours operating at Curtin University. Annette is a current State Councillor of the WA Taxation Institute, the Chair of the Women in Tax in WA and a member of several other Taxation Institute committees, both at a state and national level. She represents the National Tax Clinic program at the Dispute Resolution Working Group within the Australian Taxation Office. Annette is also a member of the Legal Costs Committee of WA appointed by the WA Government in 2022.

Dr Elizabeth Morton, BCom (Hons), PhD, FTI, CA, is the coordinator and lecturer of the undergraduate taxation course in the School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain at RMIT University, as well as being seconded to the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub as Research Fellow. During her academic career, Elizabeth has taught across the commerce discipline, and has been involved in the development of undergraduate courses and online learning resources, including the production of a tax podcast series. Her research is currently underpinned by three core themes: tax compliance, cryptorelated activities and practitioner competencies. Elizabeth regularly publishes in peer-reviewed academic and professional tax journals and engages with industry through discussion groups, policy submissions, articles, blogs, seminars, podcasts and more. Previous to academia, Elizabeth worked as an accountant in small business taxation in regional Victoria. Her professional experience includes various aspects of accounting and taxation services for all entity types, including matters in relation to capital gains tax and investments, GST and FBT compliance, as well as superannuation.

Dr Ken Devos, BBus, Grad Dip Tax, MTax, PhD, CPA, is an Associate Professor of Accounting/Tax at Swinburne Business School. Ken is the Unit Chair in Tax and teaches in both undergraduate and graduate tax courses. He has conducted tax training courses for the Australian Taxation Office, CPA Australia and accounting firms, and is a co-author of the CPA Tax Program. Ken has also published several books and articles (both national and international) and presented numerous conference papers on taxation issues. Ken’s particular research areas include taxpayer compliance, administration, evasion and tax policy. His doctorate, ‘Factors influencing individual taxpayer compliance behaviour’, was supported by funding from Taxpayers Australia and was published by Springer in 2014. Ken is also a member of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association, is represented on the editorial board for The New Zealand Journal of Taxation Law and Policy and is the Australian correspondent for the International Tax Law Review.

Swapna Verma, LLM (Taxation), Grad Dip in Legal Practice, LLB and BSc (Psychology), is a lecturer and a PhD candidate in Taxation Law in the Department of Business Law and Taxation at Monash University. She is a unit leader for undergraduate taxation law units and has lectured across numerous undergraduate and postgraduate taxation law courses. Swapna is also a recent recipient of Monash Business School’s Dean’s Commendation in Teaching Excellence Award, the Department’s Commendation in Teaching Excellence Award, and a recent joint winner of Australasian Tax Teachers Association’s ‘Best Teaching Presentation’ Award. As an early career researcher, Swapna’s research areas include international tax law, tax policy and educational scholarship (such as hybrid-flexible learning modalities). Swapna has also published in highly ranked Australian tax journals and internationally acclaimed academic textbooks, and presented at numerous Australian and international conferences. Swapna is a qualified lawyer and, prior to becoming a full-time academic, practiced in commercial law firms and a ‘Big 4’ professional services firm.