Australia

PwC
201 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Tel: +61 (2) 8266 5140
Email: adrian.abbott@au.pwc.com
Website: www.pwc.com.au

Adrian Abbott is a partner in PwC Australia's indirect tax practice, and is based in Sydney.

Adrian is key GST adviser to a number of PwC's valued clients across property, infrastructure and private equity, and delivers both technical and commercial GST advice across a range of industry sectors. His particular specialisation is in property funds, M&A and oil and gas infrastructure projects.

Adrian leads GST strategy and development for PwC's transaction tax services team, being also responsible for directing the GST practice in the M&A space, dealing with domestic and inbound clients. His team is responsible for performing the GST component of most major M&A transactions conducted by PwC.

Adrian actively leads clients in their dealings with the ATO and Treasury including legislative/policy changes (GST leasing provisions), and securing positive outcomes on both GST planning and compliance/risk management matters. He also provides GST advice to our US client base with their dealings in the Australian market.

On behalf of his clients in the infrastructure/property fund areas specifically, Adrian has secured significant GST refund outcomes with the ATO, has improved the GST recovery methodologies negotiated, and has secured full remission of penalties on GST compliance errors.

Adrian has developed an excellent working relationship with key ATO teams, most notably the ATO Financial Services Team, and is an affiliate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

KPMG in Australia
10 Shelley Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Tel: + 61 2 9455 9398
Email: dgaffney1@kpmg.com.au
Website: www.kpmg.com

Dermot started his career in indirect taxes in the late 1970s and has worked in five countries across three continents in his 30 plus years in the profession. He spent 12 years with the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland, where he was an Inspector of Taxes, and since joining the KPMG network of member firms in 1994 he has led teams in Ireland, Scotland, and England before moving to South Africa in late 2006. His most recent move was to KPMG in Australia at the end of 2011 to lead their national indirect tax practice.

Dermot's clients cover a range of sectors from pharmaceuticals to mining, brewing to banking, and aviation to property. He has focused on tax efficient supply chain management and in dispute resolution.

Dermot is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and an Associate of the Institute of Taxation in Ireland. He has lectured for the Taxation Institute and published numerous articles on indirect taxes.

Deloitte Australia
Level 9, Grosvenor Place
225 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Tel: +61 (0) 2 9322 7421
Email: jongraham@deloitte.com.au
Website: www.deloitte.com.au

Jon Graham is the partner in charge of the indirect tax practice at Deloitte Australia, a team of about 70 dedicated indirect tax specialists, including eight partners.

Jon has 23 years' experience advising on global VAT and GST matters. He has held a variety of roles during his career, including VAT inspector with UK Revenue & Customs, in-house VAT manager with a financial institution in London, and partner in charge of Deloitte's indirect tax practice in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 1999, Jon was seconded to Australia for two years to assist clients with the implementation of the GST. He returned permanently to Australia in March 2006 and is based in Deloitte's Sydney office.

Jon advises across many industry sectors, but remains a recognised expert and thought leader in the global financial services sector. He advises on all aspects of GST/VAT planning and compliance, including retail and investment banks, general and life insurance companies, fund managers, venture capital businesses and providers to those sectors such as information technology and telecommunications businesses.

Jon and his team have a reputation for providing innovative and practical solutions to clients in the field of indirect tax, including negotiating with the tax authorities at a senior level. Jon is also very experienced in assisting clients with disputes through alternative dispute resolution and litigation.

Jon has a number of qualifications and memberships, including the Taxation Institute of Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia, the UK Institute of Taxation and the UK Association of Taxation Technicians. Jon is also listed as a tax expert in the 2011 Guide to the World's Leading Tax Advisers.

KPMG in Australia
10 Shelley Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia

Tel: +61 2 9335 7323
Fax: +61 424 161 760
Email: dajenkins@kpmg.com.au
Website: www.kpmg.com.au

Deborah is an indirect tax partner with KPMG in Australia's Sydney office and has been with the firm since May 2000. She is a passionate tax professional with more than 14 years of multinational tax experience, having previously worked for New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department and a New Zealand law firm, before joining KPMG in Australia. She spent 12-months on secondment to the KPMG in London VAT practice advising European-based clients.

She is a regional co-leader, for KPMG's global indirect tax services in the Asia Pacific Region and is actively involved in KPMG's global indirect tax leadership team.

Deborah provides GST assistance primarily to clients in service-based industries, which includes advising a number of large Australian corporates and multinationals on a variety of GST technical issues as well as broader business issues associated with complying with the relevant GST legislation.

Deborah has recently been involved in advising a wide range of clients in various industries on the GST implications of a variety of large commercial transactions, including IPOs, mergers & acquisitions and group restructuring.

Deborah has led a number of GST assurance reviews to examine the GST technical correctness of existing policies and procedures, and adherence to those policies and procedures. During the course of this work, she has identified key areas of risk and opportunity for clients. Her work has involved designing approaches to alter business processes to realise opportunities while minimising risks, drafting policy documents and providing training.

PwC
Freshwater Pl
Lv 19, 2 Southbank Blvd
Southbank VIC 3006
Melbourne
Australia

Tel: +61 (3) 8603 1168
Email: peter.konidaris@au.pwc.com
Website: www.pwc.com.au

Peter is a partner and the national leader of the indirect taxes group of PwC which incorporates GST, customs duties, international trade, and employment taxes.

He specialises in GST and customs duties and has advised local and international clients on GST issues since the introduction of the tax and is widely recognised for his expertise and insight in his field. Further, Peter regularly contributes to the development of thinking and commercial practice on GST related issues through the lectures he delivers with the Taxation Institute of Australia.

Formerly a senior associate at Freehills, Peter is admitted to practice as a solicitor and uses his legal knowledge to identify, build and capitalise upon new opportunities for clients. He has worked closely with large corporate groups in performing taxation based due diligence and group structuring advice. He also has significant experience in a wide range of industries including mergers and acquisitions, resources and retail. Peter possesses a highly refined understanding of the needs and requirements of diversified corporate groups.

PwC
201 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Tel: +61 (2) 8266 3114
Email: kevin.orourke@au.pwc.com
Website: www.pwc.com.au

Kevin is a partner and national GST technical leader for PwC Australia, based in Sydney.

Kevin has 30 years' taxation experience, including eight years with the Australian Taxation Office. He is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW and, from 2004 to 2007, was Chief Executive Officer of PwC Legal.

Kevin advises major corporate clients on all aspects of GST, and has previously been named as one of the leading GST advisors in Australia by the International Tax Review.

As PwC's national GST technical leader, Kevin is often the review partner on some of the most complex GST matters and transactions. In that capacity he also manages the firm's GST relationship with the Australian Taxation Office and meets regularly with senior ATO officers.

Kevin has been involved in numerous litigation matters involving all areas of indirect tax, including proceedings involving constitutional, administrative and restitutionary law.

Kevin has a strong background in policy formulation. He was an original member of the Technical Sub-Committee of the GST Planning and Co-ordination Office, established in 1991 to examine an Australian GST (introduced in 2000). He later assisted in the development of a GST for a South-East Asian government.

Kevin is in demand as speaker and has published numerous papers. He is a member of the Taxation Committee of the Law Council of Australia and a member of the Indirect Tax Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

PwC
201 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Tel: +61 (2) 8266 1057
Email: suzi.russell@au.pwc.com
Website: www.pwc.com.au

Suzi is a partner at PwC Sydney, practising in GST and fuel tax matters.

Suzi has specialised in GST consulting since 2000 (previously advising in VAT matters in the UK). Suzi's GST career commenced with a two-year secondment at Australia Post where she got a chance to witness first-hand, the implementation and practical application of GST.

Suzi now specialises in providing GST advice to the retail and consumer industry and works for a range of Australian and multinational clients. The business-2-consumer market lends itself to advice in this area, in an attempt to ensure GST and customs duty costs are minimised in a supply chain which ends with the private individual (who cannot recover the tax).

Suzi's GST advice covers a range of issues important to clients including assisting in Australian Taxation Office audits, requesting advice about supply classification and performing due diligence services in respect of M&A activity in the sector.

PwC
Freshwater Pl
Lv 19, 2 Southbank Blvd
Southbank VIC 3006
Melbourne
Australia

Tel: +61 (3) 8603 3822
Email: ross.thorpe@au.pwc.com
Website: www.pwc.com.au

Ross Thorpe is a partner in PwC's Melbourne practice with more than 18 years experience in advising clients in the property, resources and government sector.

Ross specialises in GST and is the lead indirect taxation adviser to a large number of companies and government bodies advising on commercial and residential property related GST issues, as well as the development of strategies and commercially viable solutions for GST related matters.

Ross has always had a strong interest in property and has continued his interest through both business and private ventures.

Ross is one of the leading advisers to government on GST property issues and this gives him a unique approach as to how private and government entities should enter into agreements for the benefit of both.

He leads the national PwC property group and has specialised in GST since 1999. His current client list includes a substantial number of property developers including some of Australia's largest private companies.

PwC
QV1 Building
Lv 19-21, 250 St Georges Tce
Perth WA 6000
Australia

Tel: +61 (8) 9238 3403
Email: michelle.tremain@au.pwc.com
Website: www.pwc.com.au

Michelle is a partner at PwC in the Perth office.

Michelle has 18 years of specialist indirect tax consultancy experience in Perth with the firm. She has extensive expertise in the areas of oil and gas, property, financial supplies and dispute resolution. This industry specific experience provides a range of advantages to our clients' businesses and operations.

Michelle played a lead role in the implementation of the GST for a number of large organisations and has also assisted in numerous GST audits for a number of the firm's large clients.

Michelle's unique position as the co-ordinating partner for all of indirect tax has provided her with the opportunity to advise clients on an array of indirect tax matters including GST, payroll tax, customs duty, fuel tax and employment tax working with both principals and contractors.

Her clients appreciate her commercial and consultative approach to dealing with issues especially during difficult times such as ATO audits. Similarly, Michelle is well respected, and has developed a good relationship with senior ATO auditors as a result of her professionalism and her attention to detail in representing her clients during audits. Her ability to satisfy the ATO's needs, while getting the right outcome for her client in an ATO audit is a part of her role at PwC she particularly enjoys.

PwC
201 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Tel: +61 (2) 8266 1596
Email: patrick.walker@au.pwc.com
Website: www.pwc.com.au

Patrick has specialised in VAT/GST for nearly 25 years and is PwC's lead indirect tax partner for a range of their most important clients.

Patrick started his career in the UK and has extensive experience of UK and European VAT systems as well as more recent experience in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. He has led the UK and Australian indirect tax practices as well as being a member of PwC's global indirect tax leadership team.

Patrick specialises in working with large complex businesses to help them reduce risks and enhance processes around indirect tax. Because of his extensive international experience, Patrick works largely with multinational businesses, and he has successfully led regional and global indirect tax projects at a range of major global clients, both in Europe and Australia.