Yes. From 1 May 2015, the IGTO is able to assist you to address your complaints about the administrative actions of the ATO.

Yes. From 1 May 2015, the IGTO is able to assist you to address your complaints about the administrative actions of the TPB.

Generally, the IGTO will not revisit matters which had previously been referred to the Ombudsman unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Exceptional circumstances may include circumstances where significant new material has come to light since the matter was referred to the Ombudsman.

After you make a complaint, an adviser from the IGTO’s office will contact you to discuss your complaint. If we require further information from you, we will ask you during that discussion. Please have your ATO or TPB complaint reference number ready, if you have not already provided that to us.

Please note that we are responding appropriately to the COVID-19 pandemic, including social distancing, quarantining and self-isolation. Currently, we aim to contact you within 10 business days of receiving your complaint to confirm our understanding of your concerns. Additional delays may be experienced if further actions to manage COVID-19 risks are required. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.

If we can assist you without contacting the ATO or the TPB, we will do so. However, we may need to contact the ATO or the TPB to obtain more information regarding your complaint and to determine how we can best assist you. We will keep you updated regarding our progress.

If you do not hear from us, you can also leave us a voicemail message to request a call back by calling us on 1300 IGT TAX (1300 44 88 29) and quoting your complaint number with us. We will reply to your message within 3 business days. Please note that we are screening all messages to prioritise urgent complaints.

No. The IGTO can help you to address a complaint at any stage during your dispute with the ATO or the TPB.

However, we can best help you when you have already tried to resolve your concerns directly with the ATO or TPB. If you have not yet lodged a formal complaint with the ATO or TPB you can do so by contacting them directly. Details on how to do this is are set out here.

If you are not satisfied with the way your formal complaint was handled or the outcome, you should discuss this with the agency. We can help you as the Taxation Ombudsman if you remain unsatisfied.

The IGTO can help you to address a complaint you have about ATO or TPB actions when litigating matters.

However, there may be cases where it may be more appropriate for the IGTO to await the outcome of litigation before investigating particular ATO or TPB actions of complaint. For example, where the actions complained of are material to issues in contention in litigation, it would be appropriate to await the outcome of that litigation because it minimises the risk of inadvertently interfering with the Tribunal and Court’s administration of justice.

Also, the IGTO cannot provide you with legal advice in relation to litigation matters. You should seek independent legal advice if your matter is being litigated.

In answering this question, it is important to understand that:

• the ATO is responsible for ensuring that taxpayers have applied the tax laws correctly and paid the right amount of tax;
• the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and Courts are responsible for determining the better decision to be made in applying the tax laws to the facts; and
• the IGTO is responsible for determining whether the ATO has carried out its responsibilities fairly, where reasonable concerns are raised.

Accordingly, the IGTO is not empowered to determine whether there is a better decision to be made in applying the tax laws to the facts. In other words, the IGTO cannot directly change the amount of tax that has been raised in an audit. This is the role of the Tribunal and Courts.

However, the IGTO may investigate whether an ATO audit was conducted fairly and lawfully, for example, where information reasonably suggests that the ATO’s actions were unfair. If the IGTO investigation finds unfairness in the way that the ATO auditors determined the amount of tax raised, then the IGTO may make non-binding recommendation for the ATO to take action to address that unfairness. However, this ATO action may not result in a change of the amount of tax that was raised.

Taxpayers can challenge the amount of tax raised in ATO audits in a review process called the objection and appeal process (set out in Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953). Under this process, if the amount of tax that the auditors raised was incorrect, the amount of tax will be changed where the taxpayer can show what the correct amount should be.

If you believe that the amount raised is incorrect, you may challenge the decision by lodging an objection with the ATO. Information on how to object is available on the ATO’s website.

If you are not happy with the ATO’s objection decision, you may appeal the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or the Federal Court of Australia.

You may wish to consider seeking legal or tax advice if you need help in these matters.

The IGTO may assist taxpayers to ensure that the audit is fair and transparent. Where appropriate, the IGTO may provide advice on how the taxpayer may approach the ATO to address their concerns. In some cases, the IGTO may also recommend changes the ATO may make to the audit approach to achieve fair and transparent outcomes.

However, the IGTO is not empowered to make decisions as to whether an audit should be commenced or continued and what issues should be audited.

The IGTO can help you to address complaints about the ATO in relation to the ATO’s disclosure of your debt to credit reporting bureaus (or the underlying debt itself). The ATO will not disclose your debt to credit reporting bureaus while your complaint investigation is still in progress.

While the ATO is required to consult the IGTO on the proposed disclosure, the IGTO (like other ombudsmen) is not empowered to compel or direct the ATO in relation to its decision to report tax debt information to credit reporting bureaus – ultimately, that will be a matter for the Commissioner of Taxation (or his authorised officers). Additionally, the IGTO does not endorse any decision the ATO may make in relation to disclosing tax debt information to credit reporting bureaus.”

The best measure to prevent the ATO from disclosing a taxpayer’s business tax debts is to continue to effectively engage with the ATO to address the outstanding debt. The IGTO is available to assist taxpayers where they are experiencing difficulties engaging with the ATO for this purpose.

No. The TPB has responsibility for dealing with complaints against all registered tax agents and business activity statement (BAS) agents in Australia. Details on how you can lodge a complaint against your tax agent are available on the Tax Practitioners Board’s website.

If you are not happy with the way in which the TPB has handled your approach, you can make a complaint with the IGTO.

No. The TPB is responsible for registering tax agents and BAS agents. If you are not happy with the TPB’s decision, you can apply for it to be reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal is empowered to reinstate tax and BAS agents’ registration. Further information is available on the Tax Practitioners Board’s website.

The IGTO is not empowered to investigate the actions of the Tribunal, including its decisions. Depending on the decision made, the tax laws may provide you a right to appeal the Tribunal’s decision to the Federal Court.

You may wish to consider seeking legal or tax advice if you need help in these matters.

If you need information about your tax affairs, you should contact the ATO.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider seeking advice from a registered tax agent.

If you are not happy with a decision we have made in respect of your complaint, you may request that the matter be reconsidered, internally reviewed or externally reviewed. Please refer to Complaints about our decision for further information about these options.

All applications for access to information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 may be lodged by emailing [email protected]. We will respond to you within 28 days of receiving the application.

Please note that depending on the volume of information requested, there may be a fee payable.

In most cases, if you are seeking information related to your own tax affairs, it is easier and quicker for you to contact the ATO directly.

The IGTO values the privacy of our stakeholders and manages all confidential information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988. Our privacy policy is available from the footer of this website.

If you have any concerns regarding the ways in which we have handled your information, you may lodge your complaint at [email protected].

In most cases, the adviser who responds to your call will be able to address your concerns directly. If they are unable to assist, you may request to speak with a manager.

Please refer to our Service and conduct expectations guidelines