This information focuses on those data-matching activities and data exchanges where we provide taxpayer data to other Australian government agencies.
The purpose of the data-matching program is to identify cases where there is a risk of either incorrect payment of personal financial assistance or tax evasion. We provide income information derived from tax returns to the Centrelink Data Matching Agency (DMA) on a cyclical basis (up to nine cycles per year) on selected agency clients. This is used to determine the eligibility criteria for benefits and to assist in the detection of fraud within the welfare system.
The data is provided by us under the provisions of the Data-Matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990.
Assistance agencies provide the DMA with client data, including tax file number (TFN) and identity details, for matching by us. The data is passed via Centrelink and used for a series of matching exercises, with output from those exercises being returned to the DMA.
The following data is returned to the DMA for each case where we have identified the client from data provided:
- personal identity
- declared income
- date of most recent taxation assessment
- amount of the spouse tax offset
- surname and any other name details of the spouse in respect of whom a spouse offset is claimed
- surname and any other name details
- an indicator, if the TFN is compromised.
We conduct matching exercises against our internal data to detect cases where:
- individuals are receiving more than one payment simultaneously
- a lesser entitlement or no entitlement exists
- a greater entitlement exists
- income details of assistance agency payments are understated in tax returns.
We exchange data with Department of Human Services programs such as Centrelink, and other government agencies, under separate legislative provisions, as detailed in the following paragraphs.
Centrelink
Each week we provide taxpayer identity information derived from the processing of TFN Declarations (previously employment declarations) to Centrelink. Centrelink matches this data against clients receiving unemployment benefits to ensure benefits are not paid after employment has commenced.
We pass approximately 100,000 records to Centrelink each week. Around 12% of these are found to be Centrelink clients. ATO data is provided under table item 1 in table 1 in section 355-65 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA).
We provide taxpayer income details to the Family Assistance Office (FAO) for the purpose of administering the family tax benefits system. This involves ongoing, daily exchange of income and family benefit data between Centrelink and us, via a mutual client register, for family assistance administration and payment reconciliation. These details determine a family's eligibility for benefits.
The purpose of the activity is to allow prompt assessment of entitlements, reconciliation of payments and immediate recovery of outstanding debts to the Commonwealth. ATO data is provided under table item 6 in table 1 in section 355-65 of Schedule 1 to the TAA.
To detect Centrelink clients failing to declare assets, we match all beneficiaries against trust data from the tax return database. This identifies welfare beneficiaries who are also recipients of trust distributions. We provide details of trust income to Centrelink, along with the Centrelink reference number as an identifier. Subsequent checks determine whether or not the trust income was declared to Centrelink at the time the entitlement to the benefit was determined. We do not pass TFNs to Centrelink. This data is provided to Centrelink under the trust beneficiary data-matching program.
Child Support Registrar
The Child Support Registrar has access to our taxpayer income details (employment and investment income) for the purpose of assessing the amount of an individual's child support payments and for garnishee action, where appropriate.
The Child Support Registrar's acquisition of taxpayer information from the Commissioner of Taxation is provided for by the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 and the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989.
The ATO can also provide information to the Child Support registrar voluntarily, for the purposes of administering the two child support Acts referred to above, under table item 7 in table 1 in section 355-65 of Schedule 1 to the TAA.
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) onshore compliance staff request address information for individuals who have been classified as 'illegal non-citizens', to assist in locating them. DIAC provides name and date of birth details to us and we use this to retrieve address details. We are authorised to communicate information to DIAC for the purpose of assisting in locating persons who are unlawfully in Australia, under Item 3 in Table 7 in subsection 355-65 of Schedule 1 to the TAA.
Some specific information about persons who are visa holders or sponsors can also be disclosed to DIAC for the specific purposes set out in table item 4 in the same table.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 20 December 2011