We engage and collaborate with a broad range of external partners to effectively manage and shape the tax system along with aspects of the superannuation system and business registry systems that support and fund services for Australians.
Our relationships and cooperation help us respond to changes in our operating environment, while building our understanding of the impact of our regulatory activities.
Increasingly, digital engagement plays a central role in building on our existing relationships and collaboration with our partners and intermediaries.
We lead and participate in multiple forums across government to ensure our administration is fair, efficient and transparent, and we rely on our international partnerships to ensure we maintain effective administration. Working with scrutineers serves to improve our administration and our relationships with industry and the public are paramount to achieving our purpose.
We are committed to working with stakeholders to deliver on our purpose and vision.
Government includes:
- Tax Practitioners Board
- Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
- Whole of government (including Treasury)
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- State and territory revenue offices
- Regulatory and law enforcement agencies.
Community includes:
- Representatives across the community, business, tax, superannuation, insolvency and financial sectors.
Industry includes:
- The tax profession
- The super industry
- Digital service providers including banks, employers, online platforms and share registries.
Scrutineers includes:
- Australian National Audit Office
- Commonwealth Ombudsman
- Tax Ombudsman
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
- Parliamentary Committees
- National Anti-Corruption Commission.
International partnerships includes:
- Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
- Other international governments and organisations.
Government
As a Treasury portfolio agency, we support our ministers to help them deliver for the Australian community. To do this we work across various government agencies to help ensure we fairly, efficiently and transparently administer the tax and superannuation systems, including relevant policies and legislation.
To progress whole-of-government and system-wide improvements with a focus on building a more agile and effective public service, we both chair and participate in a variety of committees and forums, including:
- Secretaries’ Digital and Data Committee
- Chief Operating Officers Committee
- Significant Legal Issues Committee
- Capability and Workforce Committee
- Serious Financial Crime Taskforce
- Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Forum
- National Coordination Mechanism
- Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Board
- Fraud Fusion Taskforce.
We maintain a close relationship with Treasury, including advising on the implications of policy initiatives and changes that would improve the administration of laws or minimise compliance costs for the community. We exchange data with other agencies in accordance with our legal obligations and data ethics principles and work with state and territory revenue offices to collect and administer particular taxes on their behalf.
Community
Our relationships with the public we serve are paramount to achieving our purpose.
Our Charter outlines the commitments we make to everyone we work with, our expectations of them, their rights and steps they can take if they are not satisfied. We work with representatives across the community, business, tax, superannuation, insolvency and financial sectors to harness their specialist knowledge and experience through our stewardship, partner relationships and special-purpose working groups. We also use social media interactions, surveys and other research to better understand perceptions about the way the Australian tax system along with aspects of the superannuation system are administered.
Industry
We partner with the tax profession to support the integrity and continuous improvement of the tax, superannuation and registry systems. This helps us to better understand the environment in which tax practitioners operate, and the key legislative and administrative changes and environmental factors impacting their work. It allows us to identify opportunities for practitioners to best support taxpayers in meeting their obligations.
We collaborate with professionals in the superannuation industry to ensure compliance with tax and regulatory obligations of self-managed superannuation funds, and with reporting obligations of large funds.
We continue to focus on strengthening the relationship with digital service providers (DSPs), to support the delivery of digital solutions to the community. We acknowledge the importance of our partnerships with DSPs, and we are committed to early engagement and collaboration on new services and experiences that contribute to the effective administration of the tax and superannuation systems. We engage with third-party data providers, including banks, employers, online platforms and share registries, to collect information to support registration and reporting, identify fraud and recover debt.
Scrutineers
External scrutineers provide independent reviews, investigations and audits of our operations – either as the result of their own annual program of work, or in response to concerns raised by members of the public and the Australian Parliament. Reviews, investigations and audits help us to identify options for improving services to our clients, address potential barriers to willing participation, and ensure the successful delivery of outcomes in our administration of the tax system and aspects of the superannuation and registry systems.
We work with key oversight bodies to ensure transparency, accountability and public confidence in our administration including:
- engaging with the Tax Ombudsman regarding reviews and complaints
- participating in audits by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) to improve performance and financial accountability
- engaging with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on Freedom of Information (FOI) matters, privacy, data protection, FOI compliance and participating in assessments
- engaging with the Commonwealth Ombudsman on complaints and Public Interest Disclosures
- reporting and cooperating with the National Anti-Corruption Commission on suspected corrupt conduct
- appearing before parliamentary committees including the Economics Legislation Committee.
Our collaboration and engagement with external scrutineers provides independent assurance to the community and government that we operate lawfully, fairly and in the public interest.
International partnerships
We contribute to an international tax system that supports economic growth and a resilient global economy through the provisions of our tax treaties with other countries. We work with treaty partners around the world to eliminate opportunities for cross-border tax avoidance and evasion and for the effective and efficient prevention of double taxation.
We participate in a variety of international forums and committees, to collaborate and build effective tax administrations. These include:
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Forum on Tax Administration (FTA), and as a member of the FTA Bureau
- the Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration
- the Forum on Tax Administration Large Business International Program
- the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement and International Debt Management Committee.
Capacity building
We share our recognised expertise and best practice, to increase the fairness, efficiency, effectiveness and digitalisation of tax administration globally.
We work with governments and organisations around the world to assist with building the capacity of other revenue administrations, so they can:
- meet obligations under international tax frameworks
- increase their domestic resource mobilisation
- promote stronger economic governance.
We work with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to support our programs with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Palau.