Policy scope and retained discretion
Practice Direction 1 of 2024 covers four regulatory regimes, but ACRA and PAOC retain discretion to publish other outcomes, orders and findings and to depart from the policy where necessary and appropriate. The document is not an exhaustive prohibition on publication outside its listed categories.
Public-accountant practice-review publications
For reviews starting on or after 1 July 2023, Not Satisfactory outcomes are published when the committee’s decision takes effect. Details include accountant name, registration number, outcome and key order details, and effective date or period. Reviews starting earlier follow the publication policy in Practice Direction 1 of 2016.
Removal of practice-review information
If a later outcome is Satisfactory or Partially Satisfactory, information is removed on the date of the letter informing the accountant of that result. A cancellation order leads to removal two years from first publication. If the person ceases to be a public accountant, removal is two years from cessation. These are different starting points for the two-year period.
Accounting-entity quality-control review and removal
Not Satisfactory quality-control outcomes are also published on effectiveness, showing entity name, UEN, address, outcome and key orders including practice restrictions, and effective period. A later Satisfactory or Partially Satisfactory result triggers removal on the notification-letter date. Revocation means two years from first publication; cessation as an accounting entity means two years from cessation.
Disciplinary orders and the nature of misconduct
Disciplinary outcomes publish the accountant or entity name, registration number or UEN, outcome and key order details including effective date, and the nature of the professional misconduct underlying the sanction. Publication starts when the committee’s decision takes effect.
The qualified disciplinary-removal rule
For disciplinary outcomes arising from audit-quality complaints, a later Satisfactory or Partially Satisfactory outcome permits removal on the notification-letter date. Cancellation/revocation or cessation follows the stated two-year rule measured from first publication or cessation, as applicable. The paragraph concerns audit-quality complaints involving failure to comply with prescribed professional standards; it is not expressed as an automatic removal rule for every type of misconduct.
Non-compliance with committee orders
For accountants, publish name, registration number, date of the unmet order, new order for non-compliance and its effective date/period. For accounting entities, publish the corresponding name, UEN and address, original-order date, non-compliance order and effective date/period. This is a separate publication category from the underlying practice review or disciplinary result.
Where to read notices and the source version
The PDF directs readers to ACRA’s public-accountant regulatory notices page. It was issued on 9 July 2024 and updated on 28 August 2025 and 5 March 2026. The update dates matter because the policy should not be reduced to the earlier document title alone.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗