Safeguard the security of the tax, super and registry systems
Counter fraud program
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO), like other tax administrations and organisations around the world, continues to face persistent fraud attacks. These new, challenging, and innovative attacks require a strong focus on ensuring the ATO’s multi-layered fraud controls remain responsive and effective.
The ATO’s counter fraud program has been established in response to the government’s announcement in the 2024–25 Budget providing $187 million to the ATO over 4 years from 1 July 2024 to strengthen its ability to detect, prevent and mitigate fraud against the tax and superannuation systems.
A key component of the counter fraud program is enabling taxpayers to have better visibility and control of their own data. In particular, the ability to confirm in real time directly with a taxpayer through a secure, trusted channel who is undertaking activity on their account, is a control most taxpayers now expect. Provided this control is easy to act on, taxpayers generally see this interaction as a service offering.
The ATO recognises the important relationship taxpayers have with the tax profession and will actively engage with the profession as this key service to taxpayers is developed. This engagement is important to co-design an outcome that places a greater degree of fraud control in taxpayer hands, and because fraud is a shared risk between the tax profession and the ATO. Members will work in partnership with the ATO to manage this shared risk.
The ATO will develop an approach outlining how it will engage with agents to ensure potential impacts on them and their clients are understood. This will be discussed at the Tax Practitioner Stewardship Group (TPSG) meeting in November.
Improve tax performance for clients of tax practitioners
ATO payment strategy pilot
The ATO led discussion on its debt payment strategy. Members provided feedback on the planned communication approach and draft messaging.
Increase trust and confidence in the tax, super and registry systems
Tax Practitioners Board law reform
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and ATO discussed recent law reform changes. The TPB will take a pragmatic approach to administering the law.
The ATO is assessing the changes to identify areas of intersection between the 2 agencies, with a view to leveraging and adapting existing mechanisms, where possible, to enable agents to discharge their obligations efficiently.
Member feedback was sought on areas where the profession may need clarification on ATO processes and procedures.
Member comments
Members expressed concerns regarding the law changes. Association members are advocating to government and the TPB to highlight their concerns and the impacts of the recent and proposed changes on the profession.
Recognise, empower and support current and future tax practitioners
Tax agent lodgment program 2024–25
The group discussed the Tax agent lodgment program 2024–25, particularly observations and insights from the new deferral approach in Online services for agents, and support services available for practitioners.
Registered agents play an important role in helping taxpayers meet their tax and super lodgment obligations. To help practitioners manage their workload, the ATO provides additional time, allowing them to progressively lodge over a 12-month period. The ATO offers a range of additional support options to assist practitioners with lodgments, including where they experience issues or events outside of their control that impact a part or whole practice.
The ATO is focused on ensuring practitioners are using the lodgment deferral system as intended and accessing support services where appropriate. Member advice and support was sought on the proposed engagement, support and communication approaches.
The ATO wants to work with members on how to best evolve the agent support program and will review the ATO support channels ‘one pager’ and seek feedback on anything that might be missing.
Member comments
Members provided insights on the use of the lodgment program, including use of deferrals and the timing of deferral requests. They provided feedback on inconsistencies with the ATO’s deferral requests decisions. The ATO acknowledged that where individuals are making decisions that require a degree of subjectivity, some inconsistency can be expected. The ATO continues to work on staff training to help minimise inconsistencies.
Members discussed the lack of awareness in the agent community about the ATO’s support options. Professional association members offered to assist the ATO refine and disseminate appropriate messaging regarding the various support programs. The ATO will review existing fact sheets and messaging and return to TPSG for feedback.
Environmental scan
Members discussed a range of issues including:
- current challenges impacting the agent community and agent sentiment, including an increasing number of agents advising the professional associations that they’re looking to leave the profession
- operational irritants and the value in the ATO providing visibility of its program of business improvements in the future
- inconsistencies with nudge messaging
- ATO processing timeframes
- removing agent contact details from client records, where a client has moved to a different agent.
Members asked the ATO to continue to bring matters to the TPSG as early in the consultation process as possible.