Che Simpson

Overview

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) is a national statutory body responsible for the registration and regulation of tax agents, BAS agents, and tax (financial) advisers in Australia.

While the TPB is independent of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the two agencies work together to maintain the integrity of the tax system.

Problem

I worked with the TPB to design new multi page registration forms for core customers. The customers accessed the forms via the website.

One aspect of this work to was to raise awareness and educate stakeholders on the issues current users faced when using the ATO website.

The goal was to establish a baseline from which we could develop buy-in for improving the user experience.

Solution

I conducted an expert review focusing on identifying systemic usability barriers within the registration workflow by evaluating it against established heuristic principles. I analysed how confusing link labelling undermined navigational scent, while the disordered page layout disrupted the natural visual hierarchy required for task completion. Furthermore, I assessed how overwhelming content exceeded cognitive load thresholds, ultimately recommending a streamlined information architecture to reduce friction and improve the path to conversion.

To illustrate the friction in the TPB registration journey, I visualised a first-time applicant’s emotional arc. The storyboard highlights the shift from initial confidence to frustration as users encounter the extensive usability issues identified.