How we use child support lodgment enforcement data
The data collected under this program will be used for lodgment enforcement purposes.
Lodgment enforcement
Services Australia refers Child Support Scheme clients with overdue income tax lodgment obligations to the ATO for treatment. They do this by providing the ATO with a list of mutual clients.
The ATO matches Services Australia Child Support Scheme client data with ATO taxpayer records to provide assurance that the correct individual will be selected for treatment.
Unmatched records are excluded from all non-lodgment treatment.
Analysis of the matched population is conducted to identify any additional exclusion categories which may:
- result in no further action to the taxpayer (for example, where the taxpayer is up to date with their income tax lodgment obligations)
- exclude the client from some or all treatment methods (for example, where the taxpayer is deceased, has a compromised client ID, or where contact details can't be confirmed).
All matched taxpayers that are not excluded are then available for lodgment enforcement treatment(s). The ATO attempts to engage with all matched taxpayers through SMS, phone calls and letters.
Data analytics and insights
The data helps us:
- identify relevant taxpayers for administrative action, including compliance activities such as lodgment reminders via SMS, phone calls and letters, or firmer action case management
- report actions completed and outcomes of the lodgment enforcement program to Services Australia
- share information with Services Australia where individuals are not matched accurately for treatment or excluded from treatment based on our additional analysis.
Previous related programs
Child support collection arrangements between Services Australia and the ATO are based on well-established administrative processes in each agency which have been in place since 2006.
We are now publishing details of these arrangements in a protocol to provide taxpayers with more clarity about our relationship with Services Australia and our engagement with Child Support Scheme clients who may have overdue lodgment obligations.
Data providers
We are the matching agency and, in most cases the sole user of the data obtained during this data-matching program.
Data will be obtained from Services Australia.
Services Australia disclosure
The agency is authorised to disclose this information to the ATO under paragraphs 16 (2A)(a) and (b) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 and 150 (2A)(a) and (b) of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and/or alternatively under subparagraph 16 (3)(ca) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 and subparagraph 150 (3)(ca) of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989.
Privacy Act
Data will only be used within the limits prescribed by Australian Privacy Principle 6 (APP6) contained in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act and in particular:
- APP6.2(b) – the use of the information is required or authorised by an Australian law
- APP6.2(e) – the ATO reasonably believes that the use of the information is reasonably necessary for our enforcement-related activities.
Data elements we collect
We collect data from Services Australia for the purpose of identifying Child Support Scheme clients with outstanding lodgments requiring treatment.
We anticipate that the data quality will be of a high standard. Services Australia data is of a high quality and regularly relied on for administration of the tax system.
Client identification details – individuals
Client identification data elements for individuals that we collect include:
- given name(s) and surname(s)
- date of birth
- addresses (residential, postal, other)
- tax file number (TFN)
- email address
- contact phone number(s)
- child support identification reference number(s)
- child support role type
- child support category.
Number of records
We expect to collect data on up to 300,000 individuals each financial year for this program.
Data retention
We collect data under this program for all financial years from 2024–25 to 2026–27. We collect this data twice a year, receiving a referred population at the conclusion of self-preparer (31 October) and agent concessional (15 May) due dates for Individual income tax lodgment.
We retain each financial year’s data for 5 years from receipt of the final instalment of verified data files from the data provider.
The data is required for this period for the protection of public revenue as:
- retaining data for 5 years enables us to provide program assurance
- the data enhances our ability to identify taxpayers who may not be complying with their tax and super obligations, which is integral to protecting the integrity of the tax and super systems
- retaining data for 5 years supports our general compliance approach of reviewing an assessment within the standard period of review and aligns with the requirements for taxpayers to keep their records
- we undertake year-on-year analysis and evaluation of program effectiveness and taxpayer engagement and responsiveness to available treatments.
While increased data retention periods may increase the risk to privacy, we have a range of safeguards to manage and minimise this. Our systems and controls are designed to ensure the privacy and security of the data we manage.