The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) continues to see increased demand for the dedicated and tailored support provided each year to make tax and super as easy as possible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“Our Indigenous Helpline staff receive specific training tailored to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The helpline is central to the support we offer, answering over 39,000 calls last year,” Assistant Commissioner Karen Foat said.
“This year we expect a record number of calls, as people turn to remote support services during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The helpline provides direct support on tax and super issues for those people that may be unable to use online resources,” Ms Foat said.
Tax Help service
“Our Tax Help service also provides confidence to many in completing their tax return, something they may not have felt they had the knowledge to do on their own.
The ATO’s Tax Help service extends to Indigenous communities. We are offering face to face support within participating community centres with consideration of state, territory and community COVID-19 restrictions as well as providing support online and over the phone.
Tax Help is a network of ATO-trained and accredited community volunteers who provide a free and confidential service to help people earning less than $60,000 per year with simple affairs to complete their tax returns online using myTax. Tax Help volunteers can help people lodge their tax return, make an amendment online or claim a refund of franking credits. More information is available by contacting us on 13 28 61.
“Some Tax Help centres will also have volunteers available to assist in languages other than English and some centres will also specialise in helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” Ms Foat said.
For those on the look-out for employment opportunities, the ATO’s Evergreen Indigenous Pathways employment initiative has been supporting the career development of over 380 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, since 2014.
Find out more:
Call our Indigenous Helpline on 13 10 30 or visit the ATO’s dedicated webpage ato.gov.au/indigenous for more information about our support services.
You can also find out more about our Tax Help program at ato.gov.au/taxhelp.
The ATO continues to see increased demand for the dedicated and tailored support provided each year to make tax and super as easy as possible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.