The ato.gov.au website is about to get a new look.
In response to feedback from taxpayers and tax professionals, we’re refreshing the site with a more usable layout, new Google search function and quicker, easier access to online information, calculators and services.
We’re keeping the fundamental things people like, including the extensive range of online services and information tailored for individual and business taxpayers. And your browser bookmarks will still work.
Over the coming months we’ll continue to improve ato.gov.au to make it easier for you to get the answers you need and do your tax online.
For a taste of the refreshed site have a look at our interactive PDF preview (PDF, 1.1MB).
Refresh driven by users
The refresh of ato.gov.au is the result of extensive research, consultation and testing with individual and business taxpayers, and tax professionals.
People told us they were satisfied with the Tax Office website but wanted it to be easier to find answers to their questions and complete their tax tasks.
They liked the way ato.gov.au is tailored for different users, the online tools and services, and the range of information – all these will be kept.
But they also felt the site looked tired, bureaucratic and cluttered. They said the navigation could be awkward and sometimes they lost their way or couldn’t find information that helped with what they were trying to do. This is where we’ve focused our efforts in refreshing the site.
What’s changing?
The refreshed ato.gov.au will have a more usable layout, new Google search function and quicker, easier access to online information, calculators and services.
A cleaner, more usable layout
- Less clutter.
- Redesigned, expandable menus.
New Google search
- A Google search function to improve the accuracy and relevance of search results.
Easier access to online information, tools and services
- Quick links to the most popular information, calculators and online services.
- Menus and explanations to guide taxpayers through their key tasks and questions.
- Global navigation buttons to switch to different parts of the site quickly, such as from the individuals area to the businesses area – especially useful for tax professionals and small business people who ‘wear two hats’.
These changes will be made while keeping the fundamental things about the site that people like.
What won’t change?
We’ve kept the things taxpayers told us they liked about ato.gov.au, including the:
- way the site is tailored for different users, such as individual and business taxpayers
- online calculators and services
- wide range of tax information.
Because this is a refresh, not a new site, virtually all of your web browser bookmarks or favourites will still work. (The only exception is links to our Large Corporates & Multinationals segment – this has been restructured so your bookmarks may need to be revised.)
The core content of ato.gov.au will be the same – it’s the way we organise the content that’s changing. Over the coming months we’ll progressively improve content structure, and looking further out there will be more significant upgrades to the site.
What else will be changing?
The refresh of ato.gov.au is the beginning of a program of ongoing improvements to our website and online services.
Over the coming months we will continue to improve ato.gov.au by:
- progressively adding more step-by-step explanations for key tasks and issues and reorganising our content to make it easier to navigate
- enhancing the site’s functionality and online tools.
Looking further out, in the next three to five years we plan to implement significant upgrades to our web infrastructure so we can provide more extensive and convenient online services for taxpayers and tax professionals.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 19 November 2008
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