About the Tax Avoidance Taskforce
The Tax Avoidance Taskforce (taskforce) aims to prevent, detect and address tax avoidance to ensure the largest and wealthiest taxpayers pay the right amount of tax in Australia. Formed in 2016, it enhances and extends our existing activities to eradicate illegal and fraudulent tax arrangements.
In Australia, most large companies comply with their tax obligations. Our latest estimates show that the largest companies are paying more than 93% of their tax voluntarily, increasing to nearly 96% after our compliance activity. Our aspiration is to increase this to 96% correct at lodgment and 98% after our compliance activity.
The taskforce aims to:
- detect tax avoidance to ensure large businesses and wealthy groups and individuals contribute the right amount of tax in accordance with the law
- help private and public groups, and their advisers and intermediaries, comply with their obligations by providing timely and tailored guidance on key topics
- increase transparency about how we administer the tax system
- develop a better understanding of the environment taxpayers operate within
- improve our resources and capabilities to identify and address tax avoidance
- implement targeted strategies to efficiently and effectively pursue outstanding debt amounts
- keep the community informed of our work by publishing latest reports and key highlights of activities completed
- work with the Treasury to help develop new legislative policies and improve current legislation
- improve taxpayers' understanding of the law through communication, guidance and seeking opportunities to clarify the law through strategic litigation.
The efforts of the taskforce have also contributed to positioning the ATO as an international leader in championing effective global multinational tax compliance at the OECD's Forum on Tax AdministrationExternal Link.
Taskforce populations
The taskforce has a strong focus on the Top 100 and Top 1,000 public and multinational businesses and the Top 500 privately owned groups. These groups are responsible for generating more than two-thirds of all corporate tax. The taskforce's tax assurance and compliance program also covers the Next 5,000 high wealth private groups that control net wealth exceeding $50 million and public and multinational businesses outside of our justified trust programs.
Over time we have expanded our coverage to include:
- medium and emerging public and multinational businesses and privately owned groups
- individuals and intermediaries involved in high-risk trust arrangements
- taxpayers with deliberate structural concealment
- advisers identified as actively influencing compliance behaviour.
We now also include limiting deductions for certain debt and intellectual property from offshore, increased transparency arrangements and private equity deals.
We are also focused on targeting promoters of tax schemes and other intermediaries who support or promote unlawful tax schemes and strategies.
Taskforce funding
The Australian Government initially funded the taskforce in 2016, providing $679 million over 4 years.
Since the 2019–20 federal budget, funding has been extended multiple times. The funding has been used to expand our risk, assurance, and compliance strategies. It also increased our coverage across multinationals, public groups, private groups, wealthy Australians, and inappropriate trust arrangements, including those that advise this population.
In the March 2025 federal budget, funding for the Tax Avoidance Taskforce was extended for a further year to 30 June 2029. This provides certainty for resourcing taskforce programs, reinforcing our fundamental role in collecting tax so the government can deliver services for the Australian community and ensuring that deliberate non-compliance has consequences.
Tax Avoidance Taskforce making a difference
The taskforce is our most significant compliance program and has exceeded its revenue commitments.
From 2016 to 31 March 2025, it has helped secure around $35.9 billion in additional tax revenue. These efforts help ensure that tax revenue is appropriately collected and contributes to the wellbeing of the Australian community. Helped by Tax Avoidance Taskforce funding, our compliance efforts in the 2023–24 financial year secured $5.7 billion in additional tax revenue from Australia’s largest public groups, multinationals, and privately owned and wealthy groups. Further results are listed in our 2023–24 Tax Avoidance Taskforce highlights.
The taskforce was instrumental in moving several large oil and gas companies into a tax payable position. Oil and gas companies contributed tax revenue of $4.4 billion, which was secured from public and multinational businesses for the 2022–23 financial year. Some oil and gas companies are now among the biggest taxpayers in Australia.
We welcome the transparency of the companies that have publicly stated they have settled their tax affairs with the ATO.
Engagement and assurance
Compliance programs and other engagements with the taskforce populations work to ensure taxpaying businesses and individuals comply with Australian tax laws and pay the right amount of tax. Programs funded by the Tax Avoidance Taskforce include:
- Base erosion and profit shifting – Automatic exchange of information
- Base erosion and profit shifting – BEPS Action Plan
- Base erosion and profit shifting – Hybrid mismatch rules
- Commercial deals
- Diverted profits tax
- Foreign investment in Australia
- Large corporate groups
- Medium and emerging private groups tax performance program
- Medium public and multinational business engagement program
- Next 5,000 private groups tax performance program
- Privately owned and wealthy groups
- Private wealth adviser program
- Private wealth international program
- Public groups and multinational groups
- Tax schemes
- Top 100 justified trust program
- Top 500 private groups tax performance program
- Top 1,000 combined assurance program
- Top 1,000 Next Actions Program
- Trusts program
- Wealth program
Findings reports
We provide regular updates to the community on our work, including detailed findings reports for:
- Top 100 income tax and GST assurance programs
- Top 1,000 income tax and GST assurance programs
- Top 500 private groups tax performance program
- Next 5,000 private groups tax performance program
- Public and multinational business disputes and settlements
- Public and multinational business advice and guidance program
- Reportable tax position – public and multinational businesses
Other updates include:
Legislation
The taskforce assists implementation of legislation to ensure businesses pay the right amount of tax in Australia. Examples include:
- Common Reporting Standard (CRS)
- Country-by-country reporting (CBC)
- Diverted profits tax (DPT)
- Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
- Foreign resident capital gains tax withholding
- General purpose financial statements (GPFS)
- Hybrid mismatch rules
- Multilateral Instrument (MLI)
- Multinational anti-avoidance law (MAAL)
- Significant global entities – penalties
Report schemes or concerning behaviour
Schemes or concerning behaviour can be confidentially reported to us by:
- completing the tip-off form on our website or in the ATO app 'Contact us' section
- phoning our tip-off hotline on 1800 060 062.