How we notify the public
We notify the public of our intention to collect 2024–25 to 2026–27 Services Australia child support data by:
- publishing a notice in the Federal Register of LegislationExternal Link gazette in the week starting 15 December 2025
- publishing this data-matching program protocol on our website at Data-matching protocols
- way of the Services Australia privacy policyExternal Link which states that personal information is disclosed to the ATO for data-matching purposes.
Gazette notice
The following information about the data-matching program appears as a gazette notice in the Federal Register of Legislation.
Gazette notice: Commissioner of Taxation - Notice of a Services Australia child support data-matching program - 15 December 2025
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will acquire child support data from Services Australia for 2024–25 to 2026–27.
The data items include:
- client identification details (names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth)
- child support details (child support identification reference number, child support role type, child support category).
We estimate that records relating to up to 300,000 individuals will be obtained each financial year.
For this data-matching program, we will match child support data against ATO records.
The data collected under this program will be used to:
- 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.
The objectives of this program are to:
- allow Services Australia to more accurately assess child support obligations
- allow Services Australia to maximise opportunities to collect child support debts
- identify and educate individuals who may be failing to meet their lodgment obligations and help them to:
- finalise their lodgment obligations, or
- notify us that an income tax return is not required
- develop and implement strategies to address late and non-lodgment, which may include educational or compliance activities for individuals in business and individuals not in business
- support the administration of the child support program, through lodged income tax returns
- promote voluntary compliance and increase community confidence in the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems.
A document describing this program is available at ato.gov.au/dmprotocols.
This program follows the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) (2014) Guidelines on data matching in Australian Government administration (the guidelines). The guidelines include standards for the use of data matching as an administrative tool in a way that:
- complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act)
- is consistent with good privacy practice.
A full copy of the ATO’s privacy policy can be accessed at ato.gov.au/privacy