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Registrations
As custodians of the Australian Business Register, the Tax File Number Register and the registers held on behalf of the superannuation industry, we need to assure the community and government of the integrity of these registers. In 2005-06 we laid important foundations to reduce the risk of fraud, increase the integrity and robustness of our registers, and to enable further whole-of-government opportunities to improve service delivery.
Our work saw a significant focus on:
- improving the integrity of the registers we maintain, including increased use of third-party data for verification purposes n developing the infrastructure and processes that support our online services, not just for the Tax Office but for all of government
- working with other agencies to deliver a more collaborative approach to delivering government services
- preventing fraud in the tax and related systems, at the earliest possible point of intervention, and
- improving the efficiency of our superannuation registers.
Register integrity
We improved the robustness and integrity of our business registers by validating the information held on them using external data sources. This was done to ensure the operating status of corporate entities and superannuation funds is aligned with the records held by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. We undertook further validation to verify the growth of individual tax file numbers with population and migration data. As a result of an increased focus on inactive taxpayers in the registers, we were able to archive more records, reducing the potential for fraud.
Working with agencies to improve services
We worked closely with government agencies to identify:
- services that can be packaged with those offered by other agencies to reduce the compliance burden on businesses and individuals, for example, tax file number registration and change of business details, and
- initial proof of identity processes that can be leveraged to improve the integrity of our registration processes.
We now have partnerships with 74 agencies to provide information stored on the Australian Business Register. These partnerships are pivotal to streamlining business reporting processes with government, and provide the basis from which the community can make better use of ABNs.
We undertook a pilot with the Queensland Office of Fair Trading to leverage state-administered processes that will provide updates to the Australian Business Register, thus saving businesses time. We are continuing with a range of initiatives to benefit the business community, including some highlighted in the Rethinking regulation report of the Taskforce on Reducing the Regulatory Burden on Business.
This work will continue in 2006-07, with work under way to:
- integrate ABN and other registration transactions for new businesses, thus reducing the complexity and amount of time involved in setting up a business, and
- link government-administered business registers with a view to sharing information so as to reduce the number of times businesses need to tell government that their details have changed.
New standard - Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification
Industry classification is an important economic and statistical tool for government and non-government agencies. We rely on this information for a range of important functions, including compliance and analysis activity. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) relies on the high quality of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) data we provide to ensure economic data it produces in official statistics reflects any changes that have occurred in industries.
This year we worked with the ABS to recode businesses from the 1993 ANZSIC code to the new 2006 code. Our joint approach delivered the project on time and within budget, with nearly 9 million accounts recoded. As a result, the quality of industry data held on our business registers has improved and we identified and implemented a number of improvements to our systems and processes, for example, improved coding systems.
Electronic dealings with clients
This year we concentrated on issuing digital certificates to increase the number of business taxpayers with access to our online services. As a result, we saw a significant trend towards businesses interacting electronically with us. We managed an active population of more than 274,000 digital certificates and dealt with a 43% increase in certificate registration requests compared to last year.
Our digital certificates are now recognised as being suitable for broader use across a range of government agencies and this year saw them piloted for use with Centrelink's online services.
Processing
Business registration numbers stabilised this year and the Australian Business Register no longer reflected the exponential growth that resulted from the introduction of major tax reforms in 2000. However, there was a 6% increase in individual tax file number registrations compared to 2004-05. In addition to normal increases because of the birth rate, migration and overseas visitors, there was also an increase associated with international sporting events held in Australia.
Table 3.26 shows how we received registration applications this year compared to last year.
There was an increase in the use of electronic channels for business registrations, reflecting an increase in the reliance on online services generally within the community.
During the year there were more than 15 million updates to the Australian Business and Tax File Number registers. These included changes to name, address, bank details and roles. Most changes were made systematically through changes indicated on income tax returns, electronic changes made by tax agents and changes made on the Tax Agent and Business portals.
Approximately 1 million of the updates were made as a result of taxpayers advising changes to their details via forms or correspondence.
The 5,532,365 tax file number declarations processed this year represented a 1% decrease from last year.
Superannuation registers
Lost members register
The Lost Members Register is a central register of lost superannuation fund members and retirement savings account holders. We maintain the register, using information supplied by superannuation funds, to help individual members claim their money and consolidate their accounts. Monies associated with the accounts on the register are still held by the funds on behalf of the lost members. At 30 June 2006 there were 5,676,510 accounts, which were valued at $9.7 billion.
We are working with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and superannuation funds to improve the quality of data held on the register. We are improving the way information is reported to and from superannuation funds by increasing our data specifications, improving feedback on the results of data exchange, changing the status of members (from lost to transferred) in funds we know are wound up, and further developing policy that supports our administration, including when we can amend data on the register to better help users.
Register of complying super funds
The Register of Complying Super Funds allows taxpayers to search for the contact details of complying superannuation funds. It includes contact details of funds regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Tax Office. The superannuation industry uses the register to search for ABNs, determine the eligibility of a fund to receive superannuation guarantee and co-contribution payments, and facilitate rollovers between funds. The register can be accessed on our website.
Sections within 3.5 Output 1.1.2 - Management of revenue collection and transfers
Last Modified: Wednesday, 18 October 2006