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Experience

Ria has extensive experience in Australian and international tax having practised in the field for more than 20 years, including 15 years as a barrister at the Victorian Bar.

Ria has worked at law firms (Arnold Bloch Leiber and Clayton Utz) and large accounting firms (Ernst & Young and Deloitte) where she advised a range of clients including multinationals, large private groups and high-net-worth individuals on the spectrum of tax issues from “front-end” to “back-end”.

In 2017, the former Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer appointed Ria as a part-time Board member of the Tax Practitioners Board. During her extended term, she advised on strategy, policy and legal matters. She also acted as an administrative decision-maker in over 270 cases making determinations on various matters, including whether tax practitioners had breached the Code of Professional Conduct and if so, she imposed appropriate sanctions.

Upon invitation, Ria has advised the United Nations Tax Committee on dispute avoidance and resolution mechanisms at the domestic and international level, including the Mutual Agreement Procedure.

She has appeared for taxpayers and the Commissioner of Taxation in various courts and in alternative dispute resolution processes.

Ria has provided advices and opinions to national and international law firms (e.g., based in Switzerland, Brazil, New York, Cayman Islands and Hong Kong) on various issues, including:

• complex tax technical issues in the areas of income tax, CGT, Part IVA, international tax, CFC rules, transferor trust rules, transfer pricing, interest withholding tax, double tax treaties, tax residency, forex rules, taxation of trusts, and taxation of deceased estates;

• on tax reviews, audits, disputes, settlements and the conduct of litigation, including the evidentiary and strategic procedural issues, and a case’s prospects of success;
• assisted with offshore voluntary disclosures, including the ATO’s Project DO IT; and
  

• drafted, negotiated and settled various court documents and contracts, including Deeds of Settlement.

Ria has a Bachelor of Science (Pharmacology and Biochemistry), a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University, and a Master of Laws (Hons) with First Class Honours in Tax Litigation and Current Issues in Tax Avoidance from the University of Melbourne.

She is a Chartered Tax Adviser of The Tax Institute, a member of the Tax Bar Association (former Committee member for 13 years), a member of the International Fiscal Association and a former member of the United Nations Subcommittee on Dispute Avoidance and Resolution.

Upon invitation, Ria regularly participates in discussions with global tax leaders, advisers and policy-makers on current and emerging Australian and international tax issues.

Ria has actively contributed to, and was the nominated lead drafter of Chapter 2 of the United Nations Handbook on the Avoidance and Resolution of Tax Disputes (United Nations, 2021).

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.