Workforce
We are a small and agile agency with high levels of capability and staff engagement, supported by the ATO and APS framework.
Our team is proud of its strength in diversity, including 47% of staff identifying as culturally and linguistically diverse.
Our success hinges on our people, and we are dedicated to supporting their wellbeing, engagement and growth.
As a small independent regulator, we play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the tax profession and the tax systems. To achieve this, we established a program to attract, develop and retain engaged and skilled staff. This includes expanding our compliance capability to address the law reform requirements and position ourselves as an effective regulator.
We have invested in our people and culture function creating a TPB-specific strategy that leverages our strong foundation as ATO employees. This ongoing work is focused on areas such as:
- staff engagement
- TPB culture development
- leadership and succession planning
- learning and development
- implementation plans to identify and address key issues arising from staff surveys.
Technology
We use contemporary systems and skilled people to meet our goals and improve our business.
We continue to modernise our internal and external application systems. The most recent improvements include our:
- Public Register
- Qualifications Advisory Service
- staff operating platform.
Our priorities for 2025–26 include:
- creating system features to help deliver the government’s reform agenda as it relates to tax practitioners and the TPB
- improving our services by recognising tax practitioners’ Australian Government digital identity in our dealings
- improving our technology through data-driven automation
- enhancing our security systems to address increasing cybersecurity risks, ensuring reliable services for all.
- enhancing our complaint and registration forms.
Data analytics and science
Data analytics and science empowers our team with trusted insights, enabling evidence-based decision-making, proactive risk management, process automation, self-service and continuous improvement.
Our priorities in 2025–26 include:
- using data-driven risk engines and measurement tools to identify systemic risks and measure the effectiveness of our strategies
- committing to a robust approach to data governance to promote high standards of data quality, security, privacy and ethics
- fostering a culture of data stewardship and continuous improvement to empower our people to use data responsibly and with confidence.
The profession
We support tax practitioners to uphold professional and ethical standards to strengthen public trust in the tax profession and system.
We acknowledge most tax practitioners act ethically and support their clients and the tax system. We will continue to strengthen our relationship with these tax practitioners by consulting with them and their professional bodies, collaborating to create guidance, and providing engagement through webinars and other activities. We are committed to supporting the tax profession as it faces economic pressures, technological changes, cybersecurity risks, and evolving client engagement methods.
Trusted relationships are essential as the tax profession helps millions of Australians and businesses with tax planning, lodgments, payments and advocacy.
Professional bodies continue to review practices for compliance, supported by TPB guidance. This continuous improvement and early engagement with regulators are crucial. Tax practitioners promptly addressing issues and maintaining open communication helps uphold the profession’s reputation.
Misconduct by some tax practitioners can harm community trust and system integrity. Some fail to exercise reasonable care, design tax avoidance schemes, or engage in fraud. We will use improved data analytics and risk assessment to take a balanced and proportionate approach to prevent and address misconduct, including by unregistered preparers. By addressing community concerns, parliamentary scrutiny and government reforms we will improve professional standards and integrity of the system.