The Client Identity Support Centre is a support service for taxpayers who have had their identities compromised (stolen, misused, or lost). We'll give you information, advice and assistance to re-establish your identity.
Compromised tax file numbers
Your tax file number (TFN) is used to identify you in your dealings with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). You should destroy or delete your TFN from any documents before throwing them away. Your TFN and other personal information can be used to lodge tax returns and other tax forms, to receive refunds in your name.
If your TFN is known to, or being used by someone who shouldn't have it, this is referred to as a compromised TFN.
If you think that your TFN has been lost, stolen or misused, ring the ATO on 13 28 61 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.
When you ring, tell us whether your TFN is being used by someone else, or if it may be known to someone else, and how you have come to know this. For example, let us know if you have received a Notice of Assessment about a return you haven't lodged, or if you have included your TFN in a profile you posted online while looking for work.
If we establish with you that your TFN has been compromised, the first steps we'll take are to re-establish and confirm your identity, and to check your tax records. Other action taken will depend on your situation.
Re-establish and confirm your identity
You will need to re-establish your identity by providing us with original identification documents, and completing an application for a new TFN.
When you ring us, we'll discuss the identification documents you'll need to provide. We'll also make an appointment for you to come to an ATO shopfront for a personal interview and to complete a new application.
If you are restricted by location (for example, being in a remote area or held in custody) or by personal circumstance (for example, limited personal mobility or illness), ask us what alternatives may be available to conduct the personal interview.
Once we have spoken to you, received your new application and seen your original documents, we will contact other government departments to confirm the authenticity of your identification documents. This can take a number of weeks.
Check your tax records
Once we've confirmed your personal details, we'll check your tax records by looking at:
- TFN declarations
- tax returns (income reported, bank accounts used, tax agents involved and other details)
- ABNs applied for and being used, and
- employer superannuation guarantee payments made.
We may ask you to confirm any of this information so we can clearly determine which activity is yours, and which are those from another person using your TFN.
How long this takes will depend on how much information is in your record, whether another person has used your TFN, and how easy it is to confirm authenticity.
Last Modified: Friday, 27 May 2011