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02. Key focus areas

Last updated 16 August 2022

Our key focus areas for 2022–23 are strategically important programs of work that deliver our critical priorities for the year. These focus areas are underpinned by and continue to drive our digital transformation, and contribute to achieving our strategic objectives.

Improve small business tax performance

Improve small business tax performance and participation by collaborating with partners to build a digital first tax ecosystem, enabling seamless tax reporting from business source systems

Key deliverables

  • Develop a roadmap for the enhanced integration of tax and superannuation into the digital ecosystem for small business
  • Prototype concepts to streamline the tax experience, in consultation and co-design with external stakeholders

Deliver innovative business registry services

Deliver modernised business registry services to make it simpler for businesses to interact with government and strengthen the integrity of registry data

Key deliverables

  • Deliver modern business registry services through the consolidation of multiple business registers in a single place to simplify how companies interact with government
  • Strengthen the integrity of the registry system by improving the quality and availability of registry and director identification number (director ID) data

Implement targeted strategies to address collectable debt

Activate targeted strategies to address the growth in collectable debt which arose through adjustments to support clients during COVID-19

Key deliverables

  • Use data-driven insights to apply approaches to address greatest areas of collectable debt growth, in particular small business, with regard to taxpayer circumstances and capacity to pay
  • Resume firmer and stronger lodge and pay activities to pre-pandemic levels

Expand the use of Single Touch Payroll data

Expand the use of Single Touch Payroll (STP) data to simplify employer reporting obligations and proactively address superannuation guarantee non-compliance

Key deliverables

  • Introduce new services enabling employers to validate and adjust pay as you go (PAYG) withholding amounts reported through STP, from within their software
  • Make use of STP data to pre-fill withholding fields in activity statements and support employers to meet their PAYG withholding obligations
  • Create a transparent view of employees’ superannuation guarantee for all funds and all employers in one place to allow the ATO to follow up employer non-compliance more proactively

Transition to new data centre

Continue our work to transition to a new data centre, to both safeguard ATO-held data and deliver contemporary infrastructure platforms to support business systems

Key deliverables

  • Deliver modern, secure IT infrastructure by relocating to a new data centre
  • Continue to upgrade and migrate applications to the new data centre

Manage cybersecurity

Protect our organisation, clients and other ecosystem partners from cyberthreats and data breaches

Key deliverables

  • Identify and mitigate threats to the ATO ICT ecosystem and educate our staff on cybersafety practices
  • Apply a defence-in-depth approach with multiple layers of security to fortify our organisation against cyberthreats and to safeguard our systems

Enable data and digital investment through sustained efficiencies

Continue to evolve our services through data, analytics and digital investment, enabled by the identification of efficiencies and recalibrating some areas of our work

Key deliverables

  • Finalise the refreshed Digital Strategy to provide the digital vision and objectives that will inform investment in our highest priority digital programs and improvements
  • Continuously review our investments so that they are directed towards delivering a risk-based, data-driven future

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