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ATO Corporate plan

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Copyright© Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2017

You are free to copy, adapt, modify, transmit and distribute this material as you wish (but not in any way that suggests the ATO or the Commonwealth endorses you or any of your services or products).

Published NAT 7769–08.2017 JS39469

Australian Taxation Office, Canberra

August 2017

ATO Corporate plan 2017–18

The Australian Taxation Office is the Australian Government’s principal revenue collection agency and administers Australia’s tax system and significant aspects of Australia’s superannuation system. It administers legislation governing tax, superannuation and the Australian Business Register and supports the delivery of government benefits to the community.

I am pleased to present the ATO Corporate plan 2017–18, covering the period 2017–18 to 2020–21, as required under paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

This corporate plan describes how we will serve Australians through administration of the tax and superannuation systems. This plan provides the framework to drive and monitor our day-to-day operational performance and the achievement of our longer term strategic intent.

Over the life of the plan we will continue to focus on the client and staff experience. In the coming year, we will be particularly focused on refining and bedding down the Reinvention changes – to ensure their effectiveness and value to the community. Over the four years, we will continue to take necessary steps to ensure we meet the challenges in the rapidly changing environment. In particular, we will put greater effort into our data and analytics, as well as the strategies for maintaining and improving our technology and digital services.

We will continue to engage and work constructively with our stakeholders in the tax and superannuation professions and business, as well as software providers, government and other organisations.

The Australian Business Register (ABR) plan is included as part of this plan.

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) have produced separate corporate plans.

Chris Jordan Commissioner of Taxation

Commissioner’s foreword

“ I want to compare the ATO with the best of any large organisation interacting with a large and diverse client base anywhere in the world; and for people to think that whilst they didn’t want to deal with us, their interactions were as good as they could ever expect. ”

ATO Corporate plan 2017–18 i

C Commissioner’s foreword i

Purpose 1

Strategic objectives 3

Performance 12

Capability 13

Strategic risks 14

Environment 16

Australian Business Register 18

Tax Practitioners Board 20

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission 21

Appendixes 22

Acronyms and initialisms 27

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Contents

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01 ii ATO Corporate plan 2017–18

01 Strategic objectivesWe have nine strategic objectives, grouped into five perspectives1:

1 Perspectives are the focus areas that together create an overall management view of our goals and strategic objectives

PurposeThe ATO purpose is to contribute to the economic and social wellbeing of Australians by fostering willing participation in the tax and superannuation systems. We achieve this through the delivery of our goals:

■ Making it easier for people to participate ■ Providing contemporary and tailored services ■ Maintaining purposeful and respectful relationships ■ Being a professional and productive organisation V

isio

n

We are a leading tax and superannuation administration known for our contemporary service, expertise and integrity.

Government

G1 The government and the public have trust and confidence in the integrity of the ATO

G2 Our influence and insight enable well-designed tax and superannuation law, policy and administration

Client

C1 We provide clients with a consistent, tailored and transparent experience

C2 We empower and include our partners

C3 We provide clients with reliable service

Workforce

W1 We are a high-performing, responsive and professional workforce

Operational

O1 We are sophisticated and clever in how we use our data

O2 We ensure the integrity and security of our data, to support taxpayer, partner and ATO needs

Financial

F1 We manage resources with agility in order to improve productivity and realise efficiencies

ATO Corporate plan 2017–18 1

How the elements of our plan integrate

PurposeThe reason why the ATO exists

VisionWhat we aspire to be

Strategic objectivesOur areas of focus to achieve our purpose and vision

Future state

These narratives describe our

optimum future state at the end of the four years

Strategic initiatives

The significant pieces of work

we will undertake to deliver our

objectives

Performance

How we will measure andassess the success of

our objectives

CapabilityThe capabilities required by the ATO today and into the future

EnvironmentThe external and internal

factors we need to consider to deliver on our

objectives

Strategic risks

The areas of uncertainty that may impact on the success of our objectives

2 ATO Corporate plan 2017–18

02

PerformanceBy measuring community perceptions, we will understand the level of community trust and confidence in the ATO. By measuring revenue-based performance criteria, we can assess trends in our prevention-before-correction activities, as well as changes in the extent of system assurance.

■ Satisfaction – community satisfaction with ATO performance

■ Superannuation – adjusted employer superannuation contributions as a proportion of adjusted salary and wages

■ Registration – proportion of companies and individuals registered in the system

■ Lodgment – proportion of activity statements and income tax returns lodged on time

■ Payment – proportion of liabilities paid on time by value

■ Debt – ratio of collectable debt to net tax collections

■ Audit yield – cash collected from direct compliance activities

■ Total revenue effects – tax revenue from all compliance activities

■ Tax assured – proportion of the tax base where the ATO has justified trust that it is accurate

Future stateAustralians have a tax and superannuation administration that is known for its integrity, openness, transparency and is a trustworthy part of government and the community.

Strategic initiatives ■ Taskforces – meet our commitments to

government through our funded taskforces

■ Commitment to government – deliver on government priorities

■ Superannuation reforms – continue to implement the government’s superannuation reform agenda

■ Assurance – obtain independent advice through a range of channels; including external scrutineers, the General Anti-Avoidance Rules panel and independent assurance of settlements

■ Commissioner’s remedial power – exercise the Commissioner’s remedial power where appropriate

Strategic objectivesG1 Government

The government and the public have trust and confidence in the integrity of the ATO


PerformanceOur ability to influence well-designed tax and superannuation policy is dependant on the trust that government and Treasury have in the quality of our insights and advice.

■ Influence* – government and Treasury perceptions of the ATO and the quality of our advice

Future stateWe have an integrated tax and superannuation policy design process in which our contribution is highly valued.

Strategic initiatives ■ Treasury partnership – improve our

relationship with Treasury, focusing on productivity and influence

■ Secondments – manage the Treasury secondment program to enhance integrated tax design capability across the ATO

■ Tax gap analysis – use insights from our analysis of tax gaps to ensure fairness in the tax system and inform future changes to client experiences

■ International collaboration – work on policy outcomes with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other international partners

■ Policy research – improve access to data for research purposes, including delivery of the Australian Longitudinal Individuals File (aLife)

Our influence and insight enable well-designed tax and superannuation law, policy and administration

* measure under development

G2 Government


PerformanceA consistent, tailored and transparent experience makes it easier for clients to access the services and support they need. By measuring the following performance we will understand how our service affects taxpayers in managing their tax affairs.

■ Compliance cost – adjusted median cost to individual taxpayers of managing their tax affairs

■ Ease – people surveyed agree the ATO makes it easy to access services and information

■ Successful delivery* – design of the ‘Future state tax and superannuation systems’ initiative

Future stateOur services and approaches are comparable with the best of any organisation that has a large and diverse client base.

C1 Client

We provide clients with a consistent, tailored and transparent experience


Strategic initiatives ■ Individuals risks – development of mitigation

strategies to address emerging individuals risks including work related expenses

■ Future state tax and superannuation systems – use our insights to develop a seven-year plan for improving the client experience and the ATO core elements needed to achieve this

■ Justified trust – implement the program of work to increase our confidence in the level of assurance over all taxpayers’ affairs

■ Service and channel management strategy – continue establishing and deliver an enterprise-wide strategy for service and channel management

■ Single Touch Payroll – streamline business reporting obligations to align with payroll events

■ Dispute resolution – provide earlier and more open engagement to prevent disputes and litigate the right disputes

■ Public advice and guidance – improve public advice and guidance to provide taxpayers with greater certainty

■ Pre-emptive advice – tailor and increase our use of proactive advice and information

■ Balancing community conversations – a plan developed that addresses perceptions which negatively affect client behaviour towards tax and superannuation


PerformanceEmpowering and including our partners requires that we work together, leveraging each other’s work as appropriate, to achieve better outcomes.

■ Empowerment* – partner perceptions of how the ATO empowers and includes them

Future stateIn delivering outcomes for the Australian community, we consult and collaborate with our respected partners to build genuine relationships.

Strategic initiatives ■ Working with and through others –

build ATO’s relationship management capability focusing on collaboration and partnering opportunities

■ Consultation – optimise the use of the ATO Consultation Hub to maintain early, open and productive consultation

■ Tax agent services – transition to digital services for tax practitioners

C2 Client

We empower and include our partners



PerformanceAn increasing proportion of our interactions with clients occur digitally. By measuring the proportion of inbound online transactions for key services we are able to understand the preferred ways of interacting with us and the level of demand for digital services. Measuring availability of our digital systems ensures we understand the reliability of services that support clients interacting digitally.

■ Digital – proportion of inbound transactions received digitally for key services

■ Availability* – digital systems and services availability

Future stateOur services are highly reliable and meet the expectations of our clients and partners.

Strategic initiatives ■ Technology platforms – modernise and

improve the ATO’s technology platforms, to ensure they meet expectations of the community and our staff

C3 Client

We provide clients with reliable service



Future stateWe are diverse, insightful, agile and highly competent.

Strategic initiatives ■ Culture strategy – embed a contemporary

culture which ensures the transformation of the client and staff experience

■ Capability framework – implement our Leadership strategy and professionalisation of the workforce to enhance staff capability

■ Workforce plan – develop and implement a location strategy and subsequent plans to enable a flexible workforce

PerformanceHighly engaged employees feel empowered and trusted to deliver the best possible client experience. By measuring the level of engagement of our employees, we will better understand the impact of implementing our Culture strategy. Diverse workforces hold a key to fostering new ways of thinking thereby enhancing productivity.

■ Culture – level of employee engagement

■ Gender equality – female representation in the senior executive service (SES) and executive level (EL) classifications

■ Indigenous representation – proportion of ATO staff who identify as Indigenous

W1 Workforce

We are a high-performing, responsive and professional workforce


Future stateWe have organisational capability that makes us a truly data-driven and client-centric organisation.

Strategic initiatives ■ Getting the most from our data – make

our data discoverable, accessible and usable while supporting decision-making through the introduction of an enterprise indexing capability

■ Enterprise view of client risk – continue to update our systems to integrate client data and information at the enterprise level, to tailor our actions with greater consistency and efficiency

■ Data infrastructure – optimise our infrastructure to collect, store and use data

PerformanceMaking better use of our data allows for early engagement with our clients to help them get things right from the start. It also enables us to identify those who are not doing the right thing. Measuring the proportion of items pre-filled in tax returns will drive changes that make it easier for our clients to do the right thing. It also provides us with increased assurance of the right outcomes.

■ Tax returns* – proportion of items that are pre-filled

O1 Operational

We are sophisticated and clever in how we use our data



Future stateOur data and technology platforms are secure and withstand new security threats and technology advancements.

Strategic initiatives ■ Client identity program – contribute to the

government’s digital client identity program for access to government services

■ Security – adapt the ATO’s cyber security approach to support the new digital ecosystem in which it operates

PerformanceOur systems must comply with whole-of-government standards and give the community confidence in the privacy and security of information they share with us. By measuring our compliance with the Protective Security Policy Framework we understand the level of safeguards and integrity of our systems.

■ Security policy* – level of compliance with Protective Security Policy Framework mandatory requirements

O2 Operational

We ensure the integrity and security of our data, to support taxpayer, partner and ATO needs



Future stateOur resources are dynamically matched to our priorities.

Strategic initiatives ■ Resource management strategy – develop

and implement a future-focused resource management strategy

■ Shared services – contribute to the whole-of-government Shared and Common Services Program

■ Strategic procurement – provide strategic, ethical and solution driven sourcing

■ Strategic planning and budgeting capability – align planning priorities and budget allocations

■ Benefits culture – deliver and return benefits as defined in projects

PerformanceMeasuring our budget and cost of collection will allow us to actively manage and reduce our operating costs relative to the services we provide to the community. Our focus is on enhancing the client experience while remaining within our budget.

■ Budget – ATO manages its operating budget to balance

■ Cost of collection – cost to collect net $100

F1 Financial

We manage resources with agility in order to improve productivity and realise efficiencies


03 Our measures align with our strategic objectives and, by extension, with our purpose – to contribute to the economic and social wellbeing of Australians by fostering willing participation.

A variety of measurement methods are used to assess different elements of our performance. These include analysis of:

■ trends in how our clients interact with the tax and superannuation systems

■ survey data, used to capture client, partner and staff perceptions

■ our internal activities, including information technology systems and internal budgeting.

Many of our performance measures are outcome-focused and all are assessed annually. Our performance for these will be assessed against:

■ trends of results – both in absolute terms and relative to the performance target for the relevant year

■ performance targets that identify where existing standards are expected to be maintained and where future performance is expected to be stronger

■ activity-based measures, reflecting successful completion of a strategic initiative within a stated timeframe.

Details of the performance criteria and targets for the life of the corporate plan – including those for the ATO, the ABR and our administered programs – are provided in Appendixes A, B and C.

Performance

Everything we do is about improving outcomes for government and community. Measuring our impact is fundamental to this.


04 ATO Corporate plan 2017–18 13

Capability

Our organisational capability is the combination of our people, culture, governance principles, processes, systems and knowledge.

Table 1: Capability

Capability factors and our approach Relevant strategic objective

Workforce: We value and cultivate a diverse, insightful and highly competent workforce. The ATO will achieve this through refreshing its capability framework; making it more relevant to the workforce now and into the future. By reshaping our professional stream approach to defining and developing capability, we will inform better attraction strategies and better recruitment decisions. Workforce development will be targeted and meaningful, with flexible restorative approaches. We will continue to modernise our culture and promote leadership at all levels, delivering programs that transform the experiences of our staff to succeed in the workplace.


ICT: Our technology platforms and ICT environment keep pace with community expectations. The ATO will achieve this through the implementation of our information and communications technology (ICT) strategy, which will support streamlined and seamless services. By rationalising our business systems and increasing the speed of change, we will align client expectations and service levels. Our maturity as a data-driven organisation will increase as we connect to the digital ecosystem and strengthen cyber security. Data is a strategic asset owned and managed across the ATO. We are able to deliver data-driven insights to inform decisions, provide client-centric services, and improve the productivity and efficiency of the ATO.


Investment: Our resources are dynamically matched to our priorities. We manage our investment demands and opportunities in a systematic way to ensure we realise the benefits of our investments in the short term and into the future. By closely managing our continuing ICT sourcing program, we ensure that there is continued investment in key priorities for government. The investment in our resource management plan ensures we implement a financial management system appropriate for the future.


By having strong organisational capabilities, we ensure we can deliver on priorities for the government and the community and are prepared for the challenges and opportunities in our environment. Capability will be enhanced to deliver on our strategic objectives for the period 2017–18 to 2020–21.

05 Strategic risks

We have well-established systems of risk oversight and management that align with the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy, to support compliance with section 16 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

The ATO risk statement considers the most significant risks that impact on the achievement of the ATO purpose. We recognise it is not possible, or necessarily desirable, to eliminate all risks. Acceptance of some risk is often necessary to foster innovation within business practices and drive the growth of capability. Our enterprise-wide risks align with our strategic objectives.

Accepting and managing risk associated with achieving our strategic objectives is vital to delivering on our purpose as an organisation.


Table 2: Risk oversight and management

Strategic risks Relevant strategic objective

R1 The integrity of the ATO and of our administration impacts on levels of trust and confidence in the tax and superannuation systems. Trust and confidence in the tax and superannuation systems may be affected if the ATO is unable to clearly and consistently demonstrate integrity in both its practices and its people.


R2 Our approach to co-design and consultation on tax and superannuation policy must be integrated. In order to effectively influence the design of tax and superannuation policy, our approach to co-design and consultation must be timely, integrated and reflect a whole-of-system perspective.

G2 Our influence and insight enable well-designed tax and superannuation, law, policy and administration

R3 Data and information assets held by the ATO are vulnerable to cyber threats. The ATO must have a high level of protection against cyber threats to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data, to protect government and clients.

O2 We ensure the integrity and security of our data, to support taxpayer, partner and ATO needs

R4 Our products, services and systems enhance the client experience. The ATO must manage increasing expectations of a seamless end-to-end client experience while maintaining integrity in our products, services and systems.


R5 Reliance on our partners and intermediaries to support delivery of our objectives. The ATO recognises the role of others in delivering its objectives and the need to manage and align expectations through effective relationships.


R6 Reliability of our systems and services. The ATO must maintain a reliable and consistent service to provide a positive experience for our clients, while keeping pace with the changing environment.


R7 Better use of data and analytics. The ATO recognises that data-driven insights need to inform decision-making and services, and improve the productivity of the ATO.


R8 Responding to new and emerging priorities requires an agile approach to managing resources. The ATO recognises that it needs to look for innovative ways to support new and emerging priorities.


R9 Our employment framework and conditions, and competitor offers, may affect our ability to attract and retain talent. The ATO is able to retain and attract talent but staff engagement, and financial and legal constraints, may influence future competitiveness.



06 Environment

Our environment impacts on the risks to our success and the capabilities required by the ATO into the future. The contemporary environment requires us to anticipate and respond to future shifts and changes and also to balance our commitments to the community and government. Through our clear and shared understanding of our environment, we can harness the opportunities presented and build the capability to allow us to deliver our strategic intent.

In developing this corporate plan, we have considered the external environment for the period 2017–18 to 2020–21 and the opportunities it presents for the ATO.

The taxation and superannuation environment is complex, globally connected and disrupted by geo-political shifts and emerging technologies.


Table 3: Environment

Environmental factors and our approach Relevant strategic objective

The complexity of the tax and superannuation environment influences client perceptions. Taxation complexity influences client experience. The perceptions created by experiences affect our ability to provide effective services. By co-designing intentional, enterprise wide engagement strategies we ensure clients experience an uncomplicated service that encourages ongoing engagement and participation now and into the future.


Equity and fairness in the tax system. Understanding community perceptions in relation to equity and fairness in the tax system is critical to our ability to provide a service that is transparent and fair. We will continue to harness opportunities and integrate strategies to encourage willing participation, leverage data and relationships, and ensure transparency of our operations. By showing how we create a level playing field, we will encourage positive community perceptions of fairness in the tax system and willing participation.


Meeting community expectations. There are increasing expectations that government is more inclusive and open to working and collaborating with external and international organisations. Our services need to be increasingly joined up and integrated, making use of existing data. Opportunities exist for an innovative delivery model to enable the ATO to partner with others to deliver products and services. Innovative solutions for priority business outcomes and client needs will be co-designed, working collaboratively with our partners.


Data is a strategic asset. New technologies, greater portability and mobility of data, and access to digital communities, present new opportunities for data sharing. With increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks, it is important to find the right balance between openness and control. The rapid growth of unstructured data requires investment in new systems, skills and data literacy. Predictive analytics enable agile responses to client needs and expectations, therefore allowing us to deliver results more efficiently.


Digital disruption is transforming the way we do things. The impacts of emerging technologies can materialise quickly, impacting economies, reshaping industries and removing the need for trusted intermediaries. Digital disruption is transforming the way we do things and has the power to drive productivity. Computing power combined with human decision-making can slash times for low complexity / high volume work.



PurposeThe ABR’s purpose is to:

■ reduce the administrative cost to businesses in their dealings with other businesses and in complying with government regulation

■ influence government policy development and implementation, through advocating the use of whole-of-government services, technologies and processes that minimise the administrative impact on business

■ encourage the broader use of the national business register information, and the Australian business number (ABN) as the key identifier for business.

Strategic objectiveWe enable easier interactions between businesses and government through trusted business registry services and digital standards.

Australian Business Register

The Australian Business Register (ABR)1 is the source of registered business information for government and businesses operating in Australia.07


1 The Commissioner of Taxation is also the Registrar of the Australian Business Register. While the program is delivered by ATO staff, the Registrar has separate and distinct responsibilities as outlined in section 28 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999, and the ABR program receives separate funding.

The ABR program encompasses:

■ the Register, which is a comprehensive national business dataset

■ SBR, which defines a common language for business information and standards for electronic information sharing

■ secure authentication options, giving business easy access to a range of services.

Future stateOur business registry services and digital standards are trusted and used to support efficient interactions in a digital economy.

Strategic initiatives ■ Deliver on commitments for the

provision of a trusted ABR and adoption of the Standard Business Reporting (SBR) program

■ Evolution of the ABR program of work

PerformanceThe aim in advocating the use of the ABR’s whole-of-government services, technologies and processes is to minimise the impact on business of complying with government regulation. Improvements in business productivity will be gained through the broader adoption and use of the complete and single source of business information and consistent information exchange standards.

Details of ABR performance criteria and targets for the life of the corporate plan are provided in Appendix B.


Strategic RiskOur ability to encourage the use of business registry services and digital standards is critical to achieving reductions in the administrative cost and burden to businesses.

We understand that trusted business registry services and digital standards will enable easier and efficient interactions between businesses and government.

Accepting and managing risk associated with achieving the ABR strategic objective is vital to delivering on our purpose as an organisation.

We have well-established systems of risk oversight and management that align with the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy, to support compliance with section 16 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

EnvironmentWith a view to reducing the complexity of regulation for business and make dealing with government easier, the ABR focus will be on modernising business registrations. This includes improving the integrity of the register and providing greater support to the ATO and other agencies in managing compliance.

SBR will be evolved, to provide more flexible technology options (and make it easier to implement). This will include a focus on building on the SBR’s exponential growth and continuing to meet the future demands of business and government digital engagement, including electronic invoicing.

CapabilityABR’s capability requirements are included under the ATO capability (see page 13).

Tax Practitioners Board

The TPB’s role is to ensure that every entity that should be registered is registered, and that services provided by registered tax practitioners to the public are in accordance with appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct.

The TPB’s purposes are to ensure: ■ consumers of tax practitioner services only

engage registered practitioners ■ every entity that should be registered as a

tax practitioner is registered ■ tax practitioners understand their obligations

under the TASA ■ tax practitioners comply with their obligations

under the TASA ■ the TPB is recognised as an independent,

efficient and effective regulator.

Further details about the TPB, including its activities and intended results, are provided in its 2017–18 corporate plan, available at tpb.gov.au

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has general administration of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), and is responsible for the registration and regulation of tax practitioners. These include tax agents, business activity statement (BAS) agents and tax (financial) advisers.

08 20 ATO Corporate plan 2017–18

09ATO Corporate plan 2017–18 21

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is the independent regulator of charities at the Commonwealth level.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 sets out the ACNC’s objects:

■ to maintain, protect and enhance public trust and confidence in the Australian not-for-profit sector

■ to support and sustain a robust, vibrant, independent and innovative Australian not-for-profit sector

■ to promote the reduction of unnecessary regulatory obligations on the Australian not-for-profit sector.

Further details about the ACNC, including its activities and intended results, are provided in its 2017–18 corporate plan, available at acnc.gov.au

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission

AppendixesAppendix A – ATO performance

Table 4: ATO performance

Strategic objective Performance criteria

Latest result (2015–16)

Performance target

2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21

G1 Satisfaction – Community satisfaction with ATO performance

74% of survey respondents

75% 75% 75% 75%

Superannuation – Adjusted employer superannuation contributions as a proportion of adjusted salary and wages

10.03% Trend target 10% (statutory superannuation guarantee rate is 9.5%)

Registration – Proportion of companies and individuals registered in the system

Remaining steady in both categories relative to 2014–15

The ATO aims to ensure that all entities that are required to participate in the tax and superannuation systems are registered on the ATO client register.

Lodgment – Proportion of activity statements and income tax returns lodged on time

82.3% income tax returns; 78.1% activity statements





Payment – Proportion of liabilities paid on time by value

89.5% Above 88% Above 88% Above 88% Above 88%

Debt – Ratio of collectable debt to net tax collections

5.3% Below 5.5% Below 5.5% Below 5.5% Below 5.5%

Audit yield – Cash collected from direct compliance activities

$9.6 billion $5.96 billion $5.96 billion $5.96 billion $5.96 billion

Total revenue effects – Tax revenue from all compliance activities

na Under development

Tax assured – Proportion of the tax base where the ATO has justified trust that it is accurate


The ATO measures the extent to which we are achieving our purpose, through a range of performance indicators that align with our strategic objectives. A


Strategic objective Performance criteria


Performance target

2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21

G2 Influence – Government and Treasury perceptions of the ATO and the quality of our advice


C1 Compliance cost – Adjusted median cost to individual taxpayers of managing their tax affairs

3.6% reduction on prior-year result (average compliance cost)

Remain steady Remain steady Remain steady Remain steady

Ease – People surveyed agree the ATO makes it easy to access services and information

78% of survey respondents

75% 75% 75% 75%

Successful delivery – Design of the ‘Future state tax and superannuation systems’ initiative


C2 Empowerment – Partner perceptions of how the ATO empowers and includes them


C3 Digital – Proportion of inbound transactions received digitally for key services

92% 90% 90% 90% 90%

Availability – Digital systems and services availability


W1 Culture – Level of employee engagement 6.5 (out of 10) 6.5 or higher 6.5 or higher 6.5 or higher 6.5 or higher

Gender equality – Female representation in the SES and EL classifications

38% of SES and 48% of EL staff

40% of SES and approx. 50% of EL staff

45% of SES and approx.50% of EL staff

Approx. 50% of SES and approx. 50% of EL staff

Approx. 50% of SES and approx. 50% of EL staff

Indigenous representation – Proportion of ATO staff who identify as Indigenous

1.7% 2.1% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5%

O1 Tax returns – Proportion of items that are pre-filled


O2 Security policy – Level of compliance with Protective Security Policy Framework mandatory requirement


F1 Budget – ATO manages its operating budget to balance

–0.8% of budget allocation

+/ 0.6% of budget allocation




Cost of collection – Cost to collect net $100 $0.77 (gross), $0.84 (net)

Consistent with trend

Table 4: ATO performance continued


Appendix B – ABR performance

Table 5: ABR performance

Performance criteriaLatest result (2015–16)

Performance target1

2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21

Increased use of the ABR as the source of national business information by government agencies and the community 2

Agencies140 government agencies using ABR Explorer

Community590 million ABN Lookup searches

Agencies300 using ABR Explorer; 9 using ABR Connect

Community750 million ABN Lookups


Community 840 million ABN Lookups


Community 941 million ABN Lookups


Community 1.05 billion ABN Lookups

Reduction in the administrative cost to businesses and government in dealing with each other

$1.2 billion $1.54 billion $1.56 billion $1.56 billion $1.56 billion

1 Performance targets for 2018–19 and beyond have been disaggregated into annual targets for this corporate plan. In the 2017–18 PBS, they are represented as three-year cumulative targets for both ABN Lookup and Reduction in the unintended administrative costs to business of complying with government regulation.

2 Revised since the 2017–18 Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) as a result of more recent trend data on use of the ABR.

The ABR measures the extent to which it is achieving its purpose, through a range of performance indicators that align with the ABR’s strategic objective.


Appendix C – Administered programs

The ATO contributes to the economic and social wellbeing of Australians, through governing a range of programs that result in transfers and benefits back to the community.

We administer a range of payments and transfers on behalf of the Australian Government, including incentives and rebates delivered through the tax and superannuation systems. Administered programs may be managed by the ATO with policy and delivery assistance from other Commonwealth

agencies, or directly through the tax and superannuation systems.

In many instances, annual fluctuations in the number and value of benefits are beyond our span of control and, therefore, not an accurate measure of our performance. Accordingly,

performance criteria for our administered programs have been divided into two groups:

■ those with specific performance targets ■ those where our performance target is to

administer the program in accordance with the law.

Table 6: Administered programs with specific performance targets

Administered program Performance criteria


Performance target

2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21

Exploration Development Incentive

Modulation factor provided by the ATO in sufficient time to allow allocation of capped exploration credits to shareholders

Yes – provided before target date of 31 December 2015

By 31 December 2017

By 31 December 2018

By 31 December 2019

By 31 December 2020

Superannuation Guarantee Scheme

Value of superannuation guarantee charge: ■ raised (including penalties and interest) ■ collected

$670.4 million raised; $341.3 million collected

$613 million raised; $315 million collected




Value of superannuation guarantee entitlements distributed to individuals or superannuation funds

$373.3 million $329 million $323 million $334 million $345 million

Value of superannuation guarantee debt on hand and the amount of superannuation guarantee debt irrecoverable at law or uneconomical to pursue

$1.36 billion debt on hand; $124.4 million not pursued

$1.7 billion debt on hand; $118 million not pursued




Bad and Doubtful Debts

Provision for bad and doubtful debts as a proportion of total tax receivables

36% Below 35% Below 35% Below 35% Below 35%

Seafarer Tax Offset

All eligible taxpayers are aware of how to claim the offset

100% 100% 100% 100% 100%


Table 7: Administered programs where our performance target is to administer the program in accordance with the law

Administered program Performance criteriaLatest result (2015–16)

Performance target 2017–18 to 2020–21

Australian Screen Production Incentive Value of tax offsets processed $325.2 million

Administer the program in accordance with the law

Fuel Tax Credits Scheme Value of claims $6.1 billion

National Rental Affordability Scheme Value of tax offsets processed $122.0 million

Product Stewardship for Oil Value of payments processed $62.7 million

Value of revenue collected $29.3 million

Research and Development Tax Incentive Value of claims processed for 38.5% non-refundable research and development tax offset claimants

$4.3 billion tax offset paid

Value of claims processed for 43.5% refundable research and development tax offset claimants

$2.5 billion tax offset paid

Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset Value of entitlements paid $788.0 million

Private Health Insurance Rebate Value of rebates processed $247.5 million

Superannuation Co-Contribution Scheme Value of entitlements paid $154.2 million

Superannuation Guarantee Scheme Number of superannuation guarantee complaints leading to a superannuation liability being raised and those leading to no result

10,761 liability raised; 4,120 no result

Number of employees who have had superannuation guarantee entitlements raised as a result of ATO compliance activities and voluntary disclosures

94,963 compliance activities; 111,518 voluntary disclosures

Number of employers whose records are checked and the number leading to a superannuation liability being raised

18,614

Proportion of employers for whom superannuation guarantee liabilities were raised by the ATO

1.5%

Targeted Assistance Through the Taxation System

Value of interest payments processed $10.8 million

Interest on Overpayment and Early Payments of Tax

Value of credit interest applied to client accounts due to processing performance

$51.9 million

Appendix C – Administered programs continued


Acronyms and initialisms

ABN Australian business number

ABR Australian Business Register

ACNC Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission

aLife Australian Longitudinal Individuals File

APS Australian Public Service

ATO Australian Taxation Office

BAS business activity statement

EL executive level

GST goods and services tax

ICT information and communications technology

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PBS Portfolio Budget Statements

PGPA Act Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013

SBR Standard Business Reporting

SES senior executive service

TASA Tax Agent Services Act 2009

TPB Tax Practitioners Board


ContactPhone (02) 6216 1111 Email [email protected] Website ato.gov.au

MailDirector, Corporate Planning ATO Corporate Australian Taxation Office PO Box 900 Civic Square ACT 2608

Followtwitter.com/ato_gov_au facebook.com/ato.gov.au youtube.com/AusTaxOffice

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