Our environment continues to be complex, presenting both opportunities and challenges to the delivery of our purpose and vision. We will continue to evolve to meet these challenges and the changing needs of taxpayers, our partners and our workforce. Our operating context requires agility and flexibility as we respond to emerging demands, while continuing to deliver on our commitments to the Australian community and the government.
Our environment is globally connected and can be affected or disrupted by geopolitical shifts, emerging technologies, and unpredictable events. We adopt a whole-of-system perspective to continuously improve our performance, services and culture, building trust and confidence in Australia’s regulatory settings.
Megatrends and our approach
Trust and client perception
Trust is our greatest asset. Our ability to drive willing participation in the tax, superannuation and registry systems continues to be tested as global economic optimism and trust in government institutions declines. The ATO continues to be one of the most trusted APS agencies, and our programs such as the justified trust and corporate tax transparency reports assist in maintaining trust and confidence in the system.
Community sentiment, perceptions of fairness and integrity in the administration of the Australian tax system and trust in government can all have implications on taxpayers’ willingness to engage and comply. We regularly conduct trust and satisfaction surveys to better understand clients and what they value. With recent large-scale data breaches involving private and other government entities and the increase of misinformation and disinformation eroding community confidence, it is important for the ATO to maintain its position as a trusted organisation of high integrity. Our focus on system integrity and fairness, coupled with our tailored engagement approaches aim to maintain and grow community confidence in the ATO.
Service evolution and adoption
The evolution of service delivery has been shaped by the rise of the digital economy and growth in emerging and new technologies. By building and leveraging our digital platforms, we can create efficiencies and provide streamlined and tailored services that present new opportunities for the community to engage with the tax, superannuation and registry systems.
The ATO has a critical role in Australian society, and it is important that the experiences and digital services we provide make it easy for taxpayers to engage with us and that we enable streamlined services so they ‘just happen’. It is equally important to have appropriate safeguards to protect Australians while using digital services. The ATO must also ensure that all segments of the community are engaged, even those who have limited or no access to digital services.
Data, analytics and technology
Large-scale use of data, analytics and technology is powering the global digital economy, creating considerable opportunities for all sectors.
Australia’s ongoing economic success depends on its ability to harness technological advances to drive innovation, improve business efficiencies, create new products and markets, and enhance daily life. Safeguarding data holdings is increasingly difficult amid a surge in technological advancement, including generative AI, and in high-volume data breaches. The ATO uses data and analytics that enhance services to meet community and government expectations and we remain focused on delivering data security and ensuring strong data stewardship. As a large data-driven agency, we are a key participant in the whole-of-government approach to data, analytics, and digitalisation, and we are playing a leading role in leveraging emerging technologies and strengthening the governance of data sharing across government. We are committed to our data ethics principles in the use of data and analytics across all activities, including data-matching, which is used as a powerful administrative and law enforcement tool.
The ATO works with government and the broader APS to ensure integrity and safety in our use of AI. We are committed to ensuring responsible process automation and AI development. We seek to lead the way in setting ethical standards, governance arrangements and clear accountability for responsible data collection, management, sharing and use.
Cybersecurity
With an increasing dependence on technology and a shift towards digital interactions, the significance of cybersecurity and the protection of our systems and information remains critical. We have a suite of protections in place to help secure people’s personal information given the rise in identity-related fraud attempts.
Cyberattacks on businesses have become increasingly prevalent in recent years and this is likely to continue as the digital economy and services continue to grow. The number of cyberthreats targeting government agencies and the ATO is increasing, and we continue to strengthen our capability to combat these threats. The ATO has multiple layers of security in place to govern, protect, detect and respond to cyberthreats. Our staff are our first line of defence against cyberthreats, and we continue to work with partners across the public and private sectors to ensure a safe and secure digital experience.
Fraud
The integrity and protection of our systems is pivotal given a rise in fraud since the pandemic. While most people who commit fraud are first time offenders with no criminal history, large criminal organisations are leveraging fast paced cyber and AI technology to develop more advanced methods of committing fraud.
The risk of sophisticated fraud attempts through the increase in large scale data theft is expected to continue to grow. The ATO works with the community, tax professionals and partners to shut down any potential pathways for fraudsters, and to protect revenue and help keep Australians safe from fraud and scams. Our fraud and corruption control plan is in place to help us manage these risks and safeguard our staff and clients.
Workforce
Our people are integral to our role, and their expertise and capability is key to delivering our priorities. Ways of working have continued to evolve driven by technology and employee preferences. Providing a flexible working environment is a key focus within the APS, along with working conditions and innovative tools to enhance the staff experience.
In a competitive labour market, our workforce strategies aim to ensure we have the right workforce into the future. A modern staff experience aligned with operational requirements and staff expectations will help attract and retain the right talent, skills and capabilities to meet current community and government priorities and future challenges.
Geopolitics and geoeconomics
Global crises and shifting national tensions continue to be a feature of the current world. The challenges facing governments and revenue collection agencies worldwide are shared, especially as we navigate cost of living concerns. The ATO is a world leading revenue collection service that collaborates proactively with other tax jurisdictions to ensure we collectively overcome international tax challenges.
The globalisation of the economy, climate change and Australia’s position in the geopolitical environment will impact our policy and regulatory environment into the future, both nationally and internationally. The ATO remains responsive to the impacts on the community of a slowing global economy, political and economic confrontations, and impacts of climate change and natural disasters, while ensuring we continue to deliver on our commitments to government and to the Australian community.