Code of settlement practice

The processes contained in this Code are intended to promote transparency and accountability, and include appropriate checks and balances to ensure that settlements are sensible and objectively justifiable in terms of good management and administration. To this end:

the power to settle disputes in accordance with this Code is restricted to senior officers (paragraph 64)
the settlement process must be fully documented on the ATO Siebel case management system (paragraph 68), to ensure that the settlement is capable of withstanding objective scrutiny, and be justifiable on the facts and circumstances of the particular case (paragraphs 61 to 66)
settlements are reviewable under ATO quality assurance processes, which apply to all cases (refer to PS LA 2009/6 Quality improvement and assurance: application of and conformance with the Integrated Quality Framework). These reviews include independent (and external) experts and relate primarily to conformance with the procedure set out in the Code. Settlements may also be reviewed by external bodies such as the Australian National Audit Office and the Taxation Ombudsman.

Within this framework, necessary safeguards exist to protect the confidentiality of a taxpayer's taxation affairs, as follows:

In accordance with the strict secrecy requirements of the taxation law, the ATO will not disclose the terms of any settlement agreement to third parties, unless authorised by law or by the taxpayer (refer to Corporate Management Practice Statement PS CM 2004/07 Secrecy and privacy obligations of ATO employees).
In a settlement agreement, the taxpayer's identity will become public only if the taxpayer discloses it or agrees to its disclosure, or if the disclosure is a consequence of a hearing before a court, tribunal or as required by law - for example, a parliamentary committee.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 15 May 2013