Commissioner of Taxation Rob Heferen
Address to ATO employees at the corporate plan 2024–25 launch
13 August 2024
(Check against delivery)
Thanks Jacqui, and thank you, Aunty Violet for your Welcome to Country.
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands we are meeting on today - both here in Canberra and those joining online. I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
I would also like to acknowledge and welcome First Nations staff and invitees attending today's event.
Welcome everyone to the launch of our 2024–25 Corporate Plan.
I’d like to thank the Assistant Treasurer, the Hon. Stephen Jones, for his kind words and his strong vote of confidence in our ability to deliver for government and the community over the coming years.
It is great to see another packed house in Canberra for today’s event, and I know many thousands of you have joined virtually, either from your desk, your home or at one of many site events happening across Australia.
It’s important to note up front that this year’s Corporate plan represents two firsts.
It’s my first Corporate plan since becoming the Commissioner of Taxation. I’ve been involved in the development of Corporate plans in about 5 other agencies, but this marks my first as an Accountable Authority under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) – meaning, the person responsible for the operations of an organisation.
This is also the first plan that explicitly brings together the ATO, ACNC and TPB, as required by the PGPA Act.
In practice this will mean little to the day-to-day running of each of our agencies – as we each continue to operate independently – but ensures an alignment of our corporate goals as required under the PGPA Act.
I look forward to working together with Sue Woodward and Peter de Cure to deliver on our collective responsibilities.
The role of the ATO
As I highlight in my foreword, the ATO’s key role is our nation’s principal tax collector.
This means that, above all, we will aim to collect the right amount of tax, in accordance with the law, in the most efficient way for government and the taxpayer.
This is not new in this year’s corporate plan. Much of this plan remains similar to past years – which is a reflection of the capability and purpose the ATO has had, and a reflection of the organisation that our previous Commissioners, and in particular Chris Jordan, have built.
Astute readers may see some nuance, however, around a re-focus on that key role. This plan ensures our core foundation as Australia’s principle tax collector is at the centre of all that we do.
We have a strong legacy to uphold, but we can’t be a single-minded tax collector. We will continue to respond to our environment and act with integrity and compassion. We will serve the government of the day with a shared purpose and commitment to deliver on our priorities for the Australian community.
The launch of our corporate plan is critical to achieving this, as it is the corporate plan which not only outlines that shared purpose but provides a clear pathway for achieving it.
2024–25 plan
This year’s plan lays out our strategic priorities and flags key risks for the year ahead. It highlights:
- 6 key activities that support us to deliver on our core commitments to government and community.
Central to this is efficiently collecting the right amount of tax in a way that is well designed, tailored, transparent and, most of all, easy. - 6 focus areas that are responsive to our environment and showcase our strengths in innovation, working with integrity, fairness, and compassion.
- these focus areas include the continued strengthening of debt collection
- evolving the use of our data to strengthen our decision-making and digital capability to streamline our interactions with taxpayers
- enhancing counter fraud measures and cybersecurity
- sustaining multinational and large taxpayer performance, and
- blueprinting a future small business digitalised tax experience.
I encourage you to engage with the plan. You can do this by having conversations with your team, your manager, and leaders about where your work sits in, and how it contributes to, the bigger picture.
Those conversations can start today, and the ATO Executive and I are looking forward to answering your questions in the upcoming panel discussion.
You play a vital role in bringing our vision and aspirations to life, and, accordingly, you should be able to see how your group, line, branch, and team are aligned to our broader goals and priorities. These documents don’t exist for their own sake. They outline the guiding principles that govern our work and outline our broader direction.
To borrow the sentiments of Roman philosopher Seneca, there is no favorable wind for the sailor who doesn’t know where to go. To take advice from Lewis Carrol’s Cheshire Cat: the way you ought to go from here depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Closing
In closing, I’d like to note that while our Corporate plan outlines the breadth of activities we will undertake to support our purpose and vision, central to delivering all of this is you. Your expertise. Your perspective. Your willingness to communicate and collaborate.
It is critical we position the ATO and our people for the future by providing you with the tools, training, and leadership required to thrive and succeed. We are actively working to enhance our positive workplace culture, improve job satisfaction, increase productivity and efficiency, and attract and retain a highly skilled workforce.
From my observations since re-joining the ATO in March, I have every confidence in our ability to meet the objectives in this plan and to continue to deliver high quality outcomes for the Australian community.