A day in the life of a Tax Consultant

University attended: The University of Queensland (St Lucia)
Degree qualification: Bachelors of Law/Business Management (Honours)
Year of graduation: 2019

6:30am

My second alarm goes off (yes, the second one because I’ve managed to sleep through the first one set for the gym), and I get ready for the day.

7:27am

I grab my work bag and swipe card, and leave the house to catch the train into the city. The 40 minute commute to work is a great time to catch up on podcasts or read the book nominated for my team’s book club.

8:30am

Once settled at my desk, I start checking my emails for anything urgent that has come through and my calendar for any meetings I have for the day. I flag any emails that I need to respond to and file the others into my sub-folders.

8:45am

As the rest of the team arrives at the office, we head down to Mr. Claude for our daily team coffee runs (The Indirect tax team is very loyal to Mr. Claude).

Coffee break

9:30am

I meet with my manager in the breakout area for a briefing on an upcoming exclusion from the payroll tax grouping application.

Briefing

10:00am

After attending to email queries, it’s time for stretches! We try to squeeze in 10 minutes of full body stretches at our desks (whether in the office or via teams on our work from home days). We do this as we spend a lot of time at our desks during the week and it’s a great way to bond as a team. 

Stretches

12:30pm

And it’s time for lunch! I usually try to bring my own food for lunch most days of the week. I  like spending lunchtime sitting outside near the Brisbane River with friends, enjoying the fresh air and catching up with old colleagues.

1:30pm

After lunch, I check my inbox for any urgent emails that have come through.  I continue sifting through the client information for the exclusion from the payroll tax grouping application. 

Reading information

3:00pm

A manager asked me to draft a response to an email query from a client concerning land tax exemptions that may apply to his family trust, which owns land. To prepare the response, I start by looking at the land tax exemptions available for trusts and the requirements for each exemption under the relevant legislation and public rulings published by the relevant Revenue Office.I outline any further information  we will require, such as the trust deed to assist our response.

5:00pm

And just like that, work is finished for the day. I try to finish the timesheet entries for the day before packing up my laptop and saying goodbye to the team. I trek towards the station to catch the next train home.

On some nights of the week, I grab dinner with friends who also work in the city. It’s a good way for us to stay connected when we’re working full time, as it’s hard to squeeze in time for everyone to meet up on weekend.

6:30pm

Once I get home, I have dinner with my family and spend the rest of the night unwinding by focusing on hobbies such as reading or playing the guitar. I believe it’s very important to make the time to engage in different hobbies.

10:30pm

I’m tired and ready to get to sleep!