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Notifying the public of the data matching program

Find out how we notify the public about this program.

Last updated 22 February 2024

Notifying the public

We will notify the public of our intention to collect 2023–24 to 2025–26 Rental bond data by:

  • publishing a notice in the Federal Register of LegislationExternal Link gazette in the week starting 19 February 2024
  • publishing this data-matching program protocol on our website at ato.gov.au/dmprotocols
  • advising the data providers that they
    • can notify their clients of their participation in this program
    • should update their privacy policies to note that personal information is disclosed to the ATO for data-matching purposes

Gazette notice content

The following information about the data-matching program appears as a gazette notice in the Federal Register of Legislation.

Gazette notice: Commissioner of Taxation – Notice of a rental bond data-matching program – 23 February 2024

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will acquire rental bond data from state and territory rental bond regulators bi-annually for the 2023–24 through to the 2025–26 financial years.

The data items include:

  • Individual client details (names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, unique identifier for the landlord)
  • Landlord and Managing agent identification details (business names, addresses, contact names, email addresses, phone numbers, unique identifier of the managing agent).
  • Rental bond transaction details including: 
    • rental property address
    • period of lease
    • commencement of lease
    • expiration of lease
    • amount of rental bond held
    • number of weeks the rental bond is for
    • amount of rent payable for each period
    • period of rental payments (weekly, fortnightly, monthly)
    • type of dwelling
    • number of bedrooms
    • unique identifier of the rental property.

We estimate that records relating to approximately 900,000 properties will be obtained each financial year.

The objectives of this program are to:

  • promote voluntary compliance by communicating how we combine and use external and internal data to help taxpayers comply with their tax and super obligations
  • increase community confidence in the integrity of the tax and super systems and programs we administer
  • identify properties producing income and individuals who may be failing to meet their lodgment, correct reporting or payment obligations and take appropriate action (compliance or education and assistance)
  • improve detection of risks and understand and assess compliance trends
  • work with real property intermediaries to address risks and improve voluntary compliance.

A document describing this program is available at ato.gov.au/dmprotocols.

This program follows the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching in Australian Government administration (2014) (the guidelines). The guidelines include standards for the use of data matching as an administrative tool in a way that:

  • complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act)
  • is consistent with good privacy practice.

A full copy of the ATO’s privacy policy can be accessed at ato.gov.au/privacy.

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