Mark Foster

Director – Indirect Tax

Mark is a Director in Grant Thornton's national indirect tax team based in Brisbane, specialising in Australian GST across a broad range of industries including property, financial services, retail, health, education, and technology. He also holds a legal practising certificate, bringing a combined tax and legal lens to his advisory work.

Mark advises on complex GST matters, with particular depth across property transactions and structuring, financial services GST classification and recovery, and cross-border supply chains including the GST implications of importing and exporting goods and services. His work also extends to entity structuring and inbound operations for Australian and multinational businesses.

Mark is committed to understanding the full picture of how GST operates within a client's business, not just responding to individual issues as they arise. He works closely with Grant Thornton's broader tax, deals, and advisory teams to ensure GST considerations are integrated into wider client engagements, including transactions, restructures, and due diligence processes.

Mark spent two years on secondment with Grant Thornton Ireland across the Brexit transition period, advising Irish and multinational clients on cross-border supply chain structuring across EU and non-EU states, including the implications for goods flows, establishment, VAT grouping, and recovery positions across multiple jurisdictions. This means he brings a practical understanding of how indirect tax operates across multiple jurisdictions and how Australian businesses engaging internationally need to consider VAT registration, recovery, and compliance obligations.

Experience

• GST advisory across transactions and business activities, including structuring, classification, characterisation, and technical positions
• GST health checks and targeted reviews to identify risk and refund opportunities across systems, processes, and tax treatments
• Remediation of historic GST positions, including quantification, voluntary disclosures, and ATO engagement
• GST recovery advisory, including apportionment methodologies, RITC entitlements, and input tax credit optimisation
• Cross-border GST advisory, including supply chain structuring, importing and exporting, entity structuring, and inbound operations
• Review of transaction documents and contracts for GST risk, including sale agreements and relevant GST provisions
• GST governance uplift, including alignment with ATO justified trust expectations
• Private ruling requests and management of ATO review and audit processes
• Fuel tax credit reviews and recovery
• Ongoing GST compliance and support across changing business models and systems