Managing vicarious trauma: Best practices for tax practitioners supporting vulnerable clients

Amanda Guruge, CTA, Senior Associate, Tax Controversy Partners 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, debt collection has intensified, prompting more tax practitioners to engage deeply with clients’ personal circumstances – particularly to support remission and release applications. 

In recent years, the tax profession has increasingly highlighted how family violence perpetrators exploit the tax system to exert coercive control over spouses and vulnerable family members. One example is when a victim-survivor has been made a director in a spouse’s company without their knowledge or informed consent. This person may then be subject to Director Penalty Notices (DPN) for company related tax debts, associated with GST, PAYG withholding, or superannuation guarantee.

In preparing a DPN defence submission, a tax practitioner must speak to the victim-survivor about relevant circumstances that gave rise to the situation, usually focused on abuse or family violence they have suffered. As a result, tax practitioners often find themselves acting as informal sounding boards for victim-survivors, who may be retraumatised when recounting their difficult personal circumstances. 

Similarly, clients managing mental health conditions or chronic illnesses may share deeply personal information with their tax advisers1, such as their thoughts and feelings previously only shared with their psychologist, medications they take and impacts on their physical and mental wellbeing. These factors can be relevant in making an appropriate ruling on tax matters, but tax practitioners have reported that clients with suicidal ideation find it especially difficult sharing their experiences in a clinical manner to the ATO, in the hopes of a correct outcome. 

For tax practitioners, who are not trained for these situations, these conversations can lead to what is known as vicarious trauma.

What is vicarious trauma?

“Being traumatised by what we see and observe is known as vicarious trauma. It relates to the experience of a person empathically engaging with the trauma of another person or group of people.” 

- Kylie Nomchong, ‘Vicarious trauma in the legal profession’ [2017] (Summer) The Journal of the NSW Bar Association

Vicarious trauma is emotional and psychological stress arising from indirect exposure to traumatic events. It can impact people in a variety of work and volunteering positions, particularly those who continuously respond to or process difficult information in the course of their workday. For a long time, it has been well recognised that this is an occupational health and safety issue for those working in family violence, healthcare, social work or first responder roles. 

But vicarious trauma can impact anyone who plays a support role for victim-survivors, and as tax practitioners become more involved in assisting victim-survivors of financial abuse or coercive control, vicarious trauma should be considered as a potential risk in the tax profession as well.  

How does it impact tax practitioners?

Tax practitioners may experience vicarious trauma in diverse ways. Common signs include:

• Work-related strain, including feeling overly responsible for the client’s situations and achieving the best outcome for their client
• Emotional distress, such as frustration or anxiety
• Intrusive experiences including disturbed sleep or persistently thinking about a clients’ trauma
• Boundary issues manifest where tax practitioners becomes overly emotionally involved with their clients and their circumstances, including compromising their own self-care
• Disconnection, both in personal and professional life. This can be seen in those who withdraw from their personal and professional relationships, compartmentalise to an extreme degree, isolating themselves and developing a cynical or mistrustful attitude towards people or system 
• Over-control of behaviour which includes excessive caution, rigid behaviour, trying to achieve perfections, micro-managing themselves and others
• Loss of joy

Vicarious trauma not only affects a tax practitioner in their workplace, including satisfaction at work, but also in their personal life. If left unaddressed, vicarious trauma can contribute to burnout, making it essential for tax practitioners to engage in regular self-care and trauma-informed practices.

Methods for maintaining your wellbeing

The Mental Health Self-Care Wheel is a great tool that is designed to help individuals maintain their wellbeing by engaging in balanced self-care across different areas of life. It includes six key dimensions:

1. Physical self-care: Activities that support your physical body, such as exercise, sleep, nutrition and relaxation.
2. Psychological self-care: Practices that nurture mental clarity and emotional resilience, like journaling, therapy, mindfulness or setting boundaries.
3. Emotional self-care: Strategies that process and express feelings, such as talking with trusted friends, engaging in creative outlets or practicing self-compassion.
4. Spiritual self-care: Activities that connect you to a sense of purpose or meaning, which may include nature walks, reflection or meditation. 
5. Professional self-care: Maintaining a healthy work-life balance, seeking supervision, setting realistic goals and taking breaks.
6. Personal self-care: Pursuing hobbies, social connections and activities that bring joy and fulfillment. 

The wheel encourages individuals to regularly assess and engage in each area, promoting holistic wellbeing and helping prevent burnout or vicarious trauma. 

As tax practitioners increasingly engage with clients facing complex personal challenges – whether related to financial hardship, family violence or physical and mental health – it’s vital to recognise the emotional toll this work can take. 

Vicarious trauma is a real and significant occupational risk, and its impacts can extend beyond the workplace into personal wellbeing. By understanding the signs and proactively implementing self-care strategies, such as those outlined in the Mental Health Self-Care Wheel, practitioners can build resilience and maintain their capacity to support clients effectively. Prioritising wellbeing is not only essential for individual health, but also for sustaining a compassionate and ethical tax professional. 

Written by Amanda Guruge, CTA, Senior Associate Lawyer at Tax Controversy Partners

Amanda has over eight years’ experience in providing taxation advice to a variety of clients, including individuals and small businesses. Amanda holds a Master of Taxation (2024), Juris Doctor (2019) and undergraduate degrees in Commerce and Psychology (2016). Amanda holds a current practicing certificate in NSW and is also a Chartered Tax Advisor.

Amanda’s key interest lies in superannuation. She developed a strong understanding of the complex superannuation rules, administration of SMSFS and providing advice on common issues/transaction to members of SMSFs through her previous experience.

Outside of work, Amanda is a passionate volunteer, focusing on disadvantaged and vulnerable youth and elderly groups and has years of experience as a community netball coach.

This information is provided only for education and information purposes and to raise awareness of the topic. It does not constitute medical, legal or professional advice of any kind. For any advice, assessment, diagnoses or treatment of a mental health or any other condition, readers should seek professional and independent advice from an appropriately qualified practitioner.

If you or someone you know is in distress please reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14 or call 000 if you are concerned about your personal safety or that of someone else.