Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is the single global standard for the collection, reporting and exchange of financial account information on foreign tax residents. Under the CRS, banks and other financial institutions collect and report financial account information on foreign tax residents to us. We exchange this information with participating foreign tax authorities of those foreign tax residents.
In return, we receive financial account information on Australian residents from other countries' tax authorities. This helps ensure that Australian residents with financial accounts in other countries are complying with Australian tax law. The exchange of financial account information acts as a deterrent to tax evasion.
Legislation
The Australian Government announced the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) CRS in the Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2014–15.
The CRS legislation received royal assent on 18 March 2016 and came into effect on 1 July 2017. The first exchange of information occurred in 2018.
See also:
Guidance material
We have produced the following guidance material to assist financial institutions, customers and tax agents with CRS:
How to prepare and lodge your CRS report
The following information will help reporters, not-for-profit (NFP) organisations and digital service providers prepare and lodge CRS reports:
Latest news
To receive the latest CRS news and information, subscribe to our CRS stakeholder group. Send an email to the CRS Project Team with your contact details.
Supporting material
Supporting material is available on the OECD website and Software Developers website:
Self-certification compliance requirements
For detailed guidance on self-certifications, refer to Obtaining valid self-certifications for all new accounts.
More information
If you have further questions regarding the CRS, contact our CRS Project Team.
The OECD's Common Reporting Standard was announced in the Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2014–15 and commenced on 1 July 2017 with the first exchange of information in 2018.