Terms and conditions of use
Our terms and conditions of use include:
- Acknowledgement
- Nomination for the purposes of managing your myGov account
- Confirming your identity
- Your myGov inbox
Acknowledgement
I acknowledge that the nomination of Services Australia, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia, to receive and disclose my information for the purposes of managing my myGov account, does not limit the Commonwealth from performing duties or exercising powers under law.
Nomination for the purposes of managing your myGov account
The nomination of Services Australia will allow myGov to disclose your name, date of birth and your contact information to other federal government agencies that you have already linked, or decide to link, to your myGov account. The disclosure of details will:
- allow myGov to confirm your identity between those agencies
- provide those agencies with notifications of changes to your details.
Confirming your identity
Your ability to link to the ATO, access ATO online services, and receive ATO communications in your myGov Inbox will depend on how you confirm your identity when signing into your myGov account.
From 5 December 2020, you must confirm your identity and sign in to myGov using one of the following:
- the myGovID app – Digital ID
- From 13 November 2023, if you use a Digital ID to sign in you'll need to continue using your Digital ID with the same identity strength whenever you sign in to myGov to access ATO online services
- receive a code by SMS
- generate a code using the myGov Code Generator app.
If you change to using 'Answer a secret question' to sign in to myGov, your ATO record will be unlinked from your myGov account. You will no longer be able to access ATO online services and ATO communications in your myGov Inbox. We will send your communications to the postal address we have on your record.
If you linked the ATO to your myGov account before 1 June 2019 and sign in using 'Answer a secret question', you can continue to access ATO online services and ATO communications in your myGov Inbox. To improve your online security, we suggest you use myGovID, myGov SMS security codes or the myGov Code Generator app to confirm your identity.
Your myGov inbox
By linking the ATO to your myGov account, you have agreed and designated your myGov Inbox as your address for ATO communications that the ATO sends or makes available for you to access electronically.
You will receive a welcome message from us in your myGov Inbox to confirm the service is enabled.
If you use a tax or BAS agent, the designation of your myGov account and Inbox as your address is subject to your tax or BAS agent (authorised by you) designating, or having previously designated, ATO online services for agents as your address to send some or all of your ATO communications. Where this occurs, your myGov Inbox will remain your address for the ATO to send or make available communications that are not sent or made available to your agent.
You will be able to use ATO online services to access and view your communications that are sent to your agent.
You may receive notifications from myGov alerting you that communications have been sent to your myGov Inbox. This service is provided as a courtesy and does not limit your obligation to regularly access your myGov Inbox to check for ATO communications.
Not all ATO communications can be sent or made available for access electronically. You can access a list of the communication types that we may send or make available electronically on our website. We may update this list from time to time.
Where an ATO communication is unable to be sent or made available electronically, the ATO will send the communication to the postal address we have on your record.
Privacy notices
Our privacy notices include:
- Collecting your tax file number
- Privacy
- Information about your device
- Use of information
- Digital ID
- Our privacy policy
Collecting your tax file number
We are authorised by the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to request your tax file number (TFN). We will use your TFN to identify you when linking the ATO to your myGov account. You do not have to provide your TFN, however, if you do not provide your TFN, you may not be able to link the ATO to your myGov account and access ATO online.
Privacy
We are authorised by the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to request personal information from you. We will use this information to confirm your identity when you link the ATO to your myGov account and use ATO online services.
If we do not collect this information, you will not be able to link the ATO to your myGov account and access ATO online services.
Where authorised by law to do so, we will give this information to Services Australia for the purposes of administering myGov.
We also provide taxpayer information to treaty partners overseas under international tax agreements with many other countries.
Information about your device
Your browser and information you provide will be recorded for authentication purposes as part of the myGov linking process. This may include:
- your internet protocol address (IP address)
- the date and time of use of the authentication service
- the authentication information you provided
- successful and unsuccessful attempts at authenticating.
Use of information
We may use your information to:
- confirm your identity
- compile statistics and reports using deidentified data to improve ATO systems and services
- identify and respond to issues that may indicate authentication integrity is at risk
- detect, investigate and prosecute criminal offences.
Digital ID
myGovID is the Australian Government's Digital ID app and is accredited under the Trusted Digital Identity FrameworkExternal LinkOpens in a new window.
The ATO provides the myGovID system as a secure digital environment for individuals to establish and verify their identity. For information on how myGovID collects, uses and discloses your personal information, see the myGovID privacy noticeExternal LinkOpens in a new window.
Our privacy policy
Our privacy policy contains important information about your privacy, including information about:
- how you can access and seek correction of information we hold about you
- how you may complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles
- how we deal with privacy complaints.