Bringing the design to life
These client and staff experience stories demonstrate how the key features shape the future experience of our clients and our staff. These are a representative sample and not inclusive of all clients, staff or features. More stories will be developed as the design progresses.
Client experience stories:
Staff experience stories:
The names, characters, personas, companies and scenarios depicted in these examples are fictitious. Any similarity to a current or former company or business or a person, living or dead, is coincidental.
The scenarios described in this document have been developed by the ATO. No commitments are made on behalf of any Government Agency.
Individual – New father, returning to work part time
Dan Farrell
‘For me, managing my tax and super is simple, and I can access the services I need conveniently at a time that suits me.’
Alice and I were really excited about the arrival of our baby, Claire. It was a busy time and even though we didn’t get much sleep, we loved being new parents. Alice had also just started her own business so I had taken some time off to care for Claire. It was busy on all fronts.
After our daughter Claire was born and we had registered her birth, we indicated we were happy for Claire’s individual profile to be set up at that time, to make things easier for us. We set what services we wanted to know about and how we wanted to receive information. Claire’s profile was linked to our profiles. We knew it would be easier for us if everything was all together.
Later that week, I received an SMS alerting me to new mail in my digital inbox. When I logged in, I could see our profiles including information regarding Claire's upcoming health checks and our eligibility for family payments. It was great to see all of our information in one place where we could easily access it. No more filing cabinets full of papers.
While I was logged in, I chose to sync my profile with my smart phone calendar. Once I’d done it, I could see all of our important dates on my phone. I even received alerts when it was time for Claire’s next health check up. I also chose to set up a low cost super account for Claire. This was based on advice we had received from Alice’s tax agent to start to teach Claire about the importance of saving for her retirement.
While Claire was napping, I checked up on my super and consolidated several super accounts into my one preferred fund – it was really easy.
After a year at home with Claire, Alice and I decided that I should go back to work at the bank. Through my profile, I provided the bank with my updated super fund details. When I started back at work, I was notified through my profile, that our family payments would be automatically adjusted. We were relieved to have found this out as it gave us the chance to evaluate and make choices about our finances.
I also received information about the deductions I could claim as a bank employee. When I bought my new uniform, I took a photo of the receipt with my phone and the information was uploaded to my tax return, I could see the transaction details in my profile instantly. I still had to keep my receipt, but kept the image on my home computer instead of in a shoebox.
When tax time came around there wasn’t much for me to do. An SMS alerted me that my tax return was ready to verify. After logging in I checked and approved it, and my notice of assessment was delivered electronically not long after. It was one less thing to worry about and meant I had more time to spend with my family.
What the ATO does
- We ensure self-service options are available where possible for most circumstances.
- We share information across government to improve services and to help Dan meet his government obligations.
- Messages are coordinated across government to provide Dan with information that is timely, relevant to his circumstances and delivered via his digital channel of choice.
- Our secure systems are easily accessible to Dan, he can provide access to Alice, or those he wants to nominate.
- We receive and analyse information from employers, other government agencies and third parties, such as banks, to understand Dan’s circumstances and ensure he pays the right tax at the right time.
- We acknowledge that Dan has relatively straightforward affairs and we provide him with certainty at the time of the assessment.
How the ATO behaves
- We have a service focus.
- We continue to streamline the client experience by making it easy as possible to get things right, and hard not to.