TPB extends mental health support for business owners

Practitioners can now claim up to 10 per cent of their overall CPE requirement for the TPB through Beyond Blue’s NewAccess for Small Business Owners (NASBO) program.

The NASBO program is a free and confidential mental health coaching program designed specifically with small-business owners and sole traders in mind, and is backed by $4.3 million in funding from the government.

NASBO will be available nationally by phone or video call, and employs coaches with a small-business background to ensure they have a better understanding of the challenges a small-business owner may face.

The program will consist of a 60-minute initial assessment, followed by five 30-minute sessions each week where coaches will look to use low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy (LiCBT) to help participants recognise the way they think, act, and feel and break unhelpful thoughts.

The new concession comes as the Tax Practitioners Board recognises the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns on tax practitioners, many of whom are also small-business owners.

Practitioners across the country continue to face increased workloads this year as clients lean on them to access state and territory support measures amid rolling lockdowns, and comes after a year of heavy lifting in helping clients access JobKeeper and the cash-flow boost.

The TPB noted that it will continue to extend support to practitioners affected by the pandemic, including its annual declaration concession and renewal concession.

The regulator will also remove the 25 per cent CPE cap for relevant technical or professional reading activity, and accept educative health and wellbeing activities as CPE activity until 31 December.