Program overview
The Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX) data-matching program, conducted by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), outlines our use of AFCX data for 2024–25 to 2026–27 financial years.
One of our key focus areas is strengthening system integrity and controls by preventing, detecting, and responding to evasion and fraud in the tax, superannuation, and registry systems. To further enhance our ability to identify and contain fraud in near real time, we are adopting industry best practices and implementing new fraud prevention capabilities. The ATO became an AFCX member in May 2024 to exchange data and intelligence that anticipate new financial crime behaviours and typologies, as well as identify fraud and tax crime attempts.
AFCX is an independent organisation formed by major banks that operates consistent with not-for-profit principles to assist businesses combat financial-related crimes. The AFCX is a key initiative of the Scam-Safe Accord that requires all member banks to join the AFCX to disrupt, detect, and respond to scams. Banks and financial institutions play an important role in helping reduce the ease with which criminals can 'cash out' a fraudulent refund.
AFCX intelligence will be used to enhance protection of taxpayers’ information against identity crime-enabled fraud attacks on our systems by informing the implementation of additional controls on taxpayer records. AFCX data will increase our ability to identify, prevent, detect and monitor suspicious bank account details, IP addresses, and other indicators of identity crime and fraudulent activities, in support of benefits to the Australian community.
Program objectives
Our data-matching programs help us fulfil our responsibility to protect public revenue and maintain community confidence in the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems.
The objectives of our AFCX data-matching program are to:
- protect taxpayer records from identity crime and unauthorised access by detecting, preventing and mitigating risks of unlawful registration, lodgment, and refund fraud
- build intelligence about scam, fraud and crime activities and threats in the financial ecosystem to strengthen integrity of the tax and superannuation systems and develop treatment strategies
- address new and emerging risks through enhanced intelligence capabilities to reduce the impact of financial scams and crimes on taxpayers, mitigate tax revenue risk and protect the Australian community
detect, investigate and prosecute perpetrators of financial crime activity including identity takeover, money laundering or serious and organised crime.
Why we look at AFCX data
Our AFCX data-matching program will allow us to identify and address a number of tax and superannuation risks, including:
- identity crime
- fraudulent registration
- lodgment of false and fictious tax forms
- refund fraud
- tax fraud enablers.
For more information see:
- The ATO joins the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange | Treasury MinistersExternal Link
- Our focus | Australian Taxation Office
- Tax crime explained | Australian Taxation Office
- What is tax fraud? | Australian Taxation Office
- Refund fraud | Australian Taxation Office