As a model litigant, we need to do the right thing, be fair and have the highest professional standards when handling claims and litigation, brought by or against us.
We can’t start legal proceedings until we’re satisfied that litigation is the most suitable method to resolve a dispute. We will:
- advise taxpayers and their representatives of our obligations as soon as legal proceedings start
- ensure external legal service providers and counsel who represent us are informed of their model litigant obligations at the time they are engaged.
For example, we need to be consistent across cases to avoid:
- relying on technical arguments (such as minor details), unless disregarding them would put the government at a disadvantage
- taking advantage of taxpayers who don’t have the same resources to pursue a claim.
Our obligations don’t prevent:
- the Australian Government and government agencies from acting firmly and properly to protect their interests
- the testing or defending of claims against the Australian Government and government agencies
- litigation from being used to clarify a significant point of law, even if the other party wishes to settle the dispute.
You can find out more about:
- PS LA 2009/9 Conduct of ATO Litigation and engagement of ATO Dispute Resolution, which sets out our approach and philosophy to litigation
- Legal Services Directions 2017External Link, which are a set of binding rules about the performance of Commonwealth legal work, issued by the Attorney-General through the Office of Legal Services Coordination (OLSC)
- our responsibilities as a model litigant through Dispute Resolution Instruction Bulletin DR IB 2013/10.
Lodging a complaint
We are committed to investigating alleged breaches of our obligations.
If you have a complaint alleging a breach, send a letter detailing your concerns to:
General Counsel
Model Litigant Complaint
Australian Taxation Office
GPO Box 4899
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Assessing a complaint
Complaints will be assigned to investigating officers within our General Counsel who have had no previous involvement in the matter, to ensure that issues are investigated in an impartial manner.
We will:
- review your complaint along with any other material provided by you and information we hold
- contact you if we need more information after we have received your complaint
- assess the complaint in light of the Legal Services Directions 2017, existing relevant court processes and rules (for example, the Federal Court Rules 2011), and existing relevant ATO litigation processes and procedures.
Processing your complaint
We aim to process complaints within 56 days of receiving them. However, complaint investigations regarding model litigant obligations are often complex and, in some cases, may take several weeks or more. If we can't process your complaint within 56 days, we’ll contact you and advise you of an expected timeframe.
Once your complaint has been investigated, we will let you know the outcome of your complaint. If there has been a breach, we will consider if any action is necessary to address the breach.
Following an investigation of a complaint, we’ll also send a report to the OLSC for their review.