The Tax Office changed the basis of its industry coding of income tax returns as from 1 July 1996. The coding structure used is the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), modified for use by the Tax Office.
Background
The Tax Office provides the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) with aggregate and client record data for use in the preparation of the National Accounts and related economic survey work. The industry code is an important element of the data provided.
The Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) was originally developed for use in Australia and New Zealand in the production and analysis of industry statistics. It replaced the Australian Standard Industrial Classification (ASIC) and the New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (NZSIC) which were in use for many years.
There was extensive consultation with stakeholders aimed at ensuring that the ANZSIC reflected the structure of Australian and New Zealand industry and the needs of users of statistics. Emphasis was placed on alignment with the international standards, primarily the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), Revision 3, to provide significant improvements in the international comparability of industry statistics.
The change to the new standard ANZSIC addressed problems encountered in the preparation of the National Accounts. A flow-on benefit to the ABS was that it allowed them to make greater use of Tax Office data as an alternative to some of their regular surveys. This has reduced the administrative burden on the business community.
Another direct benefit is the ability to more readily use aggregate industry-based statistical data produced by the two organisations, or any other organisations, using the ANZSIC standard.