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Communication menu

Use the Communication menu in Online services for business to communicate with the ATO by Secure mail.

Last updated 26 June 2026

Secure mail

You can use Secure mail to engage with us on a number of topics.

Access Secure mail

To access Secure mail, you need to first grant permissions in Access Manager.

Log in to Access Manager, and select:

  • Manage permissions.
  • View and action own mail.

Use Secure mail

You can use Secure mail to:

  • view sent messages
  • reply to messages
  • allocate messages to other users (based on permissions)
  • delete messages
  • receive replies from us
  • print messages
  • set up email notifications to your preferred email address to advise you when you receive messages to your Online services for business mailbox
    • select Email notification at the bottom of the mailbox and type or update your email address
    • email notifications will always be from our trusted email address – Taxofficeportalmessagenotify@ato.gov.au
  • access the business mailbox or another user's mailbox to view and allocate mail (you can't create, send or reply to a message in these mailboxes).

To view the business mailbox or another user's mailbox, select the Access other user's mail permission in Access Manager.

Lodge income tax return amendments

If you need to correct a mistake on your return, you can lodge this in Online services for business.

You will need to complete the amended return. Then at the Communication menu:

  • select Secure mail then New
  • select Topic – Income tax
  • select Subject – Income tax amendment (and the relevant client type)
  • attach the amendment
  • select the Declaration
  • select Send.

You can't lodge an original income tax return using Online services for business.

Secure mail topics

Secure mail allows you to communicate with us on a range of topics and subjects, including:

Activity statements

The available subjects for the Activity statement topic are:

Debt and lodgment

The available subjects for the Debt and Lodgment topic are:

To request a payment arrangement, see Payment plans. You can also request a payment plan in Online services for business. For payment plans above $200,000, you will need to contact us.

Fringe benefits tax (FBT)

The available subjects for the Fringe benefits tax topic are:

Income tax

The available subjects for the Income tax topic are:

Note: You can't lodge an original tax return in Online services for business. To lodge an original income tax return, you must either:

  • use SBR-enabled software
  • speak with your registered tax professional
  • lodge via a paper return.

Pay as you go (PAYG)

The available subjects for the Pay as you go topic are:

  • Instalments – additional time to lodge – deferral request
  • Instalments – change instalment rate
  • Instalments – change PAYG cycle
  • Instalments – explanation of instalment rate
  • Instalments – other instalment queries
  • Withholding – ATO cycle change letter received – request to remain on current cycle
  • Withholding – cycle change request – withholding amount less than $1 million
  • Withholding – cycle change request – withholding amount more than $1 million
  • Withholding – forms – superannuation.

Refunds and remissions

The available subjects for the Pay as you go topic are:

  • ATO pay interest on an early payment – request
  • Client overpayment or double payment
  • Excess imputation credit refunds
  • Interest paid on an overpayment of an income tax return
  • Penalty or interest calculation
  • Remission of failure to lodge on time penalty
  • Remission of general interest charge
  • Remission of non-electronic notification or non-electronic payment penalty
  • Returned refunds
  • NRWT – custodians (Non-resident withholding tax).

Registrations

The available subjects for the Registrations topic are:

Superannuation

The available subjects for the Superannuation topic are:

  • Account details – this option is only available to legal practitioners. Other requests will not be answered.
  • Approved SMSF auditors – ACA bulk lodgments (see Audit complete advice (XLSX template))
  • Approved SMSF auditors – intelligence referrals
  • Approved SMSF auditors – number enquiries
  • Approved SMSF auditors – P2P requests – application of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) and Regulations
  • Approved SMSF auditors – IAR, ACR, ACA enquiries
  • Approved SMSF auditors – auditing standards or audit related issues, online services and general enquiries
  • Direct claim payout from the superannuation holding account special account (SHA)
  • Fund validation service
  • Is a particular fund registered as a complying superannuation fund?
  • Lodge inactive low balance account – declaration
  • Lodge Super guarantee charge (SGC) statement (XLSX)
  • Lodge Super guarantee opt-out for high income earners with multiple employers form (NAT 75067)
  • Lodge USM adjustment templates or non-lodgment advice
  • Lodgment – transfer balance account report
  • Manual payment request
  • Payment and transfer of superannuation holdings reserve. Use this subject to lodge Request to adjust concessional contributions (NAT 74851)
  • Payment arrangement request – see Payment plans
  • Penalty or interest calculation
  • Refund request
  • Remission of general interest charge
  • SMSF early engagement and voluntary disclosure (see SMSF regulatory contravention disclosure form)
  • SMSF product ruling
  • SMSF specific advice
  • Statement of account or account query
  • Superannuation provider assessment data.

Other topics

Choose the View more topics option for the following subjects:

GST

The available subjects under GST are:

  • Additional time to lodge – deferral request
  • ACNC – elect to exclude grants
  • Charities, religious institutions, not-for-profit entities
  • Consolidation registration enquiry
  • Deferral of GST on importations (DGST)
  • Education courses
  • Export, import or online trading of goods and services
  • Financial supplies or insurance
  • Food, entertainment and SAM (simplified accounting method)
  • Government grant or funding, taxes, fees, charges
  • Grouping or branching registration enquiry
  • GST joint venture notification (see GST – joint venture – notification of forming, changing or cancelling (NAT 2953))
  • Land or property transaction (including retirement villages)
  • Motor vehicles or luxury car tax
  • Other sales, purchases or and tax invoice enquiry
  • Time limits on refunds or activity statement amendment
  • Assistance to register or update GST details electronically
  • GST at settlement
  • Registrations update.

Exploration incentives

The available subjects under Exploration incentives are:

  • EDI advice
  • EDI lodgment
  • JMEI advice
  • JMEI lodgment.

Lodge report

The available subjects under Lodge report are:

  • Annual investment income report extension of time
  • Annual investment income report lodgment – PC spreadsheet
  • Common reporting standard (CRS) extension of time
  • Employee share scheme annual report extension of time
  • Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) extension of time
  • Non-resident interest, dividend and royalty annual report lodgment – PC spreadsheet
  • Quarterly tax file number report extension of time
  • Quarterly tax file number report lodgment – PC spreadsheet.

Statement requests or account details

The available subjects under Statement requests or account details are:

Excise

The available subjects under Excise are:

  • Alcohol, fuel and petroleum products, tobacco, duty free store
  • Audit
  • Excise returns
  • Fuel schemes enquiry
  • Fuel tax credit enquiry (not to be used for registration requests)
  • Other advice or lodgment enquiry
  • Permission – movement and period settlement
  • Remission, refund and drawback enquiry
  • Wine equalisation tax enquiry (not to be used for registration requests)
  • Product stewardship for oil (PSO) claim
  • Product stewardship for oil (PSO) – Category 1 lab test results.

Insolvency

The available subjects under Insolvency are:

  • Bankruptcy
  • Deed of company arrangement
  • Liquidation
  • Finalisations
  • Indemnities
  • New insolvency advice
  • New insolvency advice – voluntary administration
  • Notification of creditors meeting
  • Part IX
  • Part X
  • Preferences
  • Receiver or manager appointed (see Appointment or cessation of a representative of an incapacitated entity)
  • SB – restructuring
  • Simplified liquidation
  • Section 129 demand
  • Tax clearance
  • Request for documents. Note: this insolvency option is only available for insolvency practitioners. Other requests will not be answered.
  • Voluntary administration.

Global and domestic minimum tax

The available subjects under Global and domestic minimum tax are:

  • Payment arrangement request
  • Penalty or interest calculation
  • Penalty or interest enquiry
  • Remission of failure to lodge on time penalty
  • Remission of general interest charge
  • Remission of shortfall interest charge
  • Request for account and role
  • Request for lodgment deferral - this option is also used for suspending lodgment enforcement action for GIR and foreign lodgment notification.
  • Request for payment deferral
  • Return not necessary.

Petroleum resource rent tax

The available topics under Petroleum resource rent tax are:

  • General enquiries
  • PRRT return or instalment lodgment.

Trustee services

The only available topic under Trustee services is Day 1 notification.

Build to rent

The only available topic under Build to rent is Notice of event.

General questions, problems, help

The available topics under General questions, problems, help are:

  • Notify ATO of appointment of new public officer
  • Notification of legal representative.

View and print excise delivery authorities

Online services for business allows you to view and print your delivery authority. To access your delivery authority in online services when you prepay:

  • select Communication
  • select Secure mail
  • navigate to the relevant mailbox
  • click on the Delivery authority or Excise return attachment and download the PDF document. Once downloaded, you can print the delivery authority.

To receive an email notification that your delivery authority has been issued, add an email address in the Notifications field at the bottom of the secure mail mailbox.

Email notifications will always be sent from our trusted email address Taxofficeportalmessagenotify@ato.gov.au

Communication history

Communication history gives you access to view available correspondence we send to you or your agent using the following channels:

  • email
  • SMS
  • paper
  • agent digital – used to send digital communications to your agent when they have set up Communication preferences to receive mail on your behalf
  • ATO online – used to send a digital copy of a statement of tax record and digital activity statement notice.

Some communications can't be sent digitally. These will continue to be sent by post and can't be viewed in Communication history. We will continue to add more communication types to enhance this function further.

If you're a sole trader, you will need to use ATO Online services for individuals and sole traders to view your communication history.

Viewing communication history

To view your communication history, select:

  • Communication
  • Communication history.

To search using specific parameters, select:

  • Search
  • Type
  • Time period using the drop-down menu
  • Channel
    • email
    • SMS
    • paper
    • agent digital
    • ATO online services
  • Search – results will be displayed
  • Download – a new window will open with the search results as an Excel spreadsheet
  • Print friendly version to print or save a copy.

Viewing and downloading statements

You can view and download a digital activity statement notice for quarterly GST and PAYG instalments (forms R, S and T) if you lodge activity statements electronically.

To view and download your digital activity statement notice from the client home page, select:

  • Communication
  • Communication history
  • Search
    • select Activity statements tick box, and deselect Communications tick box
    • select Time period and then Search – this will display the digital activity statement notice.

If your registered delivery preference is paper, we will continue to send paper instalment notices. We don't change your delivery preferences from paper to electronic unless you have lodged electronically.

Communication preferences

If you use a tax agent, Communication preferences allows you and your agent to choose where we send your digital ATO communications.

You can choose to have communications sent to either:

  • you
  • your registered agent.

You can also choose to have some communications sent to you and others to your registered agent.

Your agent can set your communication preferences on your behalf.

If you or your agent elect to have communications sent to them, you can request a copy from them by selecting:

  • Communication
  • Preferences.

Setting your business's communication preferences will designate Online services for business as your preferred address for service for certain communications.

Your dealings

You can track the progress of the messages you've sent us using Your dealings in the Communications menu.

Troubleshooting secure mail

To send secure mail messages, you will need:

  • a separate secure mail message for each subject
  • ensure you attach all supporting documentation, which
    • is a maximum of 6 files
    • is less than 6 MB in size (per file)
    • is in a suitable format (doc, .pdf, .rtf, .xls, .xml, .tif, .jpg, .zip, .bmp, .png, .gif, .mpp, .ppt, .docx, .dotx, .xlsx, .xltx, .pptx, .potx, .ppsx.)
    • is not encrypted (for example, password protected)
    • doesn’t contain macros
    • doesn’t contain formulas (copying and pasting information from one spreadsheet to another may introduce unseen elements in your spreadsheet)
    • is not an executable file (common executable file extensions include .exe, .app, .vb, .scr).

Mailbox size limit

Warnings will appear when a mailbox is approaching or has exceeded the 500-message limit. The limit includes both emails in your mailbox and sent emails.

You will be asked to delete mail items to reduce your mailbox size. Exceeding the limit will impact a user's ability to create new emails or reply to received emails.

Prior to deleting any messages, you should save copies of individual emails:

  • open the email by clicking on the email hyperlink
  • select the Printer friendly button to print or save as a PDF.

You can also save a list of messages in your own inbox or sent items by using the Printer friendly button (located at the bottom left of your screen). This gives you the option to print a hard copy or save the list as a PDF.

Alternatively, you can view a list of sent emails in Your dealings. This includes the status of the request.

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