Phoenix Taskforce

About the Phoenix Taskforce

The Phoenix Taskforce was established in 2014 to detect, deter and disrupt phoenix activity.

We provide education and advice on how businesses can protect themselves and not break the law. We also work with specific industries and supply chains to close off opportunities for phoenix activity.

Phoenix Taskforce agencies share information and use sophisticated data-matching tools to identify those promoting or engaging in phoenix activity.

Along with ASIC, we've received additional resources to help target facilitators and pre-insolvency advisers. We're continuing to work with ASIC to establish better data sharing and improved analytics capability. This includes establishing the Phoenix Compliance Program, a key initiative within our compliance strategy, to target individuals who promote and facilitate phoenix activity.

How the Phoenix Taskforce takes action

We take action against phoenix operators by:

working together to disrupt their business model and make it financially unviable
removing their ability to operate
applying financial penalties
prosecuting the worst offenders.

The most serious cases are referred to the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce.

There are civil and criminal offences for those who promote or engage in phoenix activity. This includes penalties for removing assets to hide them from creditors when a company is wound up. ASIC and liquidators also have additional powers to recover assets for the benefit of employees and other creditors.

Where we suspect phoenix activity we can also:

estimate liabilities for businesses that aren't meeting their lodgment obligations
make directors personally liable under the director penalty regime for their company's liabilities
retain refunds where a business has failed to provide an outstanding notification (that is, they don't lodge).

You can report suspected phoenix activity by making an anonymous tip-off.

We're verifying the identity of directors through the director identification numberExternal Link (director ID) initiative. This initiative is:

helping to prevent the use of false and fraudulent director identities
making it easier for government regulators to trace directors’ relationships with companies over time to help better identify and eliminate director involvement in unlawful activity.

ATO's Phoenix Compliance program

As the lead agency of the Phoenix Taskforce, the ATO has a focused Phoenix Compliance program. We update the results we’ve achieved from our program each quarter.

Compliance program results

Up until 30 June 2026, our program has:

raised more than $3.26 billion in liabilities from audits and reviews
returned more than $1.44 billion to the community.

Achievements for 2025–26

In 2025–26, we:

completed over 420 audits and reviews
collected more than $190 million in cash, contributing to government spending on essential services
received more than 3,870 referrals of suspected phoenix activity through our Tax Integrity Centre
shared 73 disclosures of information between agencies, helping identify those engaging in or promoting phoenix activity.

Read some case studies of phoenix activity that the Phoenix Taskforce has disrupted.

Phoenix Taskforce members

The Phoenix Taskforce is made up of key federal, state and territory government agencies.

The current members are: