Document
Accountant's declaration
A letter from a qualified accountant confirming that the income figure you have declared is consistent with what they know of the business.
What an assessor reads in it
- Whether a professional with visibility of the accounts will stand behind the figure
- The accountant's registration, which the lender may verify
- Whether the letter is specific or boilerplate
How to prepare it
- Give your accountant the exact figure and the period before asking for the letter
- Confirm the accountant holds the registration the lender requires
- Allow a week — these get requested at the last minute and hold up applications
What spoils it: Asking for a figure the accountant has not seen support for. A vague letter is worth less than no letter, because it invites a closer look at everything else.
Where it comes from
Tax Practitioners Board — public register
General information about how Australian lenders assess self-employed income. Lender policy differs and changes, and tax and lodgement rules are set by the ATO; each page links to the body that sets the rule. Reviewed 17 August 2026.
The other documents
Business activity statementsQuarterly statements lodged with the ATO reporting GST collected and paid, and often PAYG instalments.Business bank statementsSix to twelve months of the trading account the business actually operates through.Tax returns and notices of assessmentLodged returns for you and every entity, plus the ATO notice confirming what was assessed.Contracts and invoicesFor contractors and labour-hire workers: the current contract, its history of renewal, and the invoices behind the payments.