Rental bond data overview
Rental bond data collected under this program will be compared with information included in tax returns.
The ATO also compares this data against our records and other data we hold. This helps us identify taxpayers who own an income producing property, and taxpayers who have sold an income producing property, who may not be meeting their reporting, lodgment or payment obligations.
It also helps in identifying foreign persons owning residential property who may not be complying with foreign investment laws, such as those relating to:
- conditions imposed on foreign investment approvals
- use of a dwelling
- vacancy fees.
The program will support client engagement and voluntary compliance through education programs.
Previous related programs
We started collecting rental bond data in 2005, with data dating back to 1985. This protocol outlines our intention to continue collecting rental bond data for the 2023–24 to 2025–26 financial years.
The data collected in prior years of this program has helped protect public revenue by enabling us to identify taxpayers owning an income producing property who may not be meeting their reporting, lodgment or payment obligations. Breaches of the foreign investment laws can result in an infringement being issued or the investor can be subject to a civil or criminal penalty.
During the 2022–23 financial year, this program in combination with other data matching and compliance strategies, identified approximately 5,600 taxpayers where real property dealings had not been treated correctly and raised an additional $23 million in revenue. This demonstrates the continuing need to collect this data.
Data providers
The ATO is the matching agency and the sole user of the data obtained during this data-matching program.
Data will be obtained from the following:
- New South Wales Fair Trading – Professional Standards and Bonds
- Department of Justice and Community Safety – Consumer Affairs, Victoria
- Residential Tenancies Bond Authority – Consumer and Business Services, South Australia
- Bond Administrator – Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australia
- ACT Office of Rental Bonds – Access Canberra
- Department of Justice – Office of the Residential Tenancy Commission, Tasmania
- Residential Tenancies Authority, Queensland.
Our formal information gathering powers
To ensure statutory requirements are met, we obtain data under our formal information gathering powers. These are contained in section 353-10 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953.
This is a coercive power, and data providers are obligated to provide the information requested.
We will use the data for tax and super compliance purposes.
Privacy Act
Data will only be used within the limits prescribed by Australian Privacy Principle 6 (APP6) contained in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act and in particular:
- APP6.2(b) – the use of the information is required or authorised by an Australian law
- APP6.2(e) – the ATO reasonably believes the use of the information is necessary for our enforcement-related activities.
Data elements we collect
We will collect data from rental bond authorities through to 30 June 2026.
The collected data may contain all or a selection of the fields listed below.
Client identification details – individuals
- Given and surnames (if more than one name on the policy)
- Addresses (residential, postal, other)
- Email address
- Phone number
- Unique identifier for the landlord.
Managing agent identification details
- Business name
- Addresses (business, postal, registered, other)
- Contact name
- Contact phone number
- Email address
- Unique identifier of the managing agent.
Rental bond details
- 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.
Number of records
We expect to collect data on approximately 900,000 properties annually.
Data quality
We anticipate the data quality will continue to be of a high standard. State and territory rental bond regulators use sophisticated computer systems to administer state and territory tenancy laws.
Being responsible for receipt, management and return of residential tenancy rental bonds, state and territory rental bond regulators have due diligence obligations to maintain records of a high quality.
Data retention
We collect data under this program for all financial years from September 1985 to 2025–26. We collect this data bi-annually, after 30 June and 31 December each year.
In 2019, the ATO was granted exemption by the Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner to depart from the data destruction requirements of the National Archives of Australia's General Disposal Authority 24 (GDA24) – Records relating to data matching exercises. GDA24 has now been revoked.
We destroy data that is no longer required in accordance with the Archives Act 1983, and the records authorities issued by the National Archives of Australia, for both general and ATO-specific data.
We will retain the data for 7 years from receipt of the final instalment of verified data files from all data providers. We may extend the timeframe for retention of rental bond data, which will be reviewed on a rolling basis at intervals of no longer than 7 years. Each review will determine whether an extension of the data retention period is required.
The data is required for this period for the protection of public revenue:
- Taxpayers who own income producing property have income tax reporting obligations.
- When an income producing property is subsequently sold, it impacts tax assessments (including CGT) as a capital gains event is potentially triggered. This can include where a main residence has been rented out for part of the ownership period. A property may be retained for many years prior to disposal. To identify rental impacts for CGT liability assessment, rental bond data history from 20 September 1985 (the introduction of the CGT regime) is required to assess capital gains impacts for both rental and lifestyle properties, like holiday homes.
- It enhances our ability to identify taxpayers who may not be complying with their tax and super obligations, which is integral to protecting the integrity of the tax and super systems.
- Retaining data supports our general compliance approach of reviewing an assessment within the applicable period of review.
- The data is also used in multiple risk models, including models that establish retrospective profiles over multiple years aligned with period of review.
This program will be subject to an evaluation within 3 years which is consistent with the requirements of Guideline 9.
While increased data retention periods may increase the risk to privacy, we have a range of safeguards to manage and minimise this. Our systems and controls are designed to ensure the privacy and security of the data we manage.