Gazette notice: Commissioner of Taxation – Notice of a passenger movements data-matching program 14 July 2023.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will acquire passenger movements data from the Department of Home Affairs for 2023–24 through to 2025–26.
Data items include:
■ full name
■ date of birth
■ arrival date
■ departure date
■ passport Information
■ status types (visa status, residency, lawful, Australian citizen).
We estimate that records relating to approximately 115,000 individuals will be obtained each financial year.
The data accessed will be electronically matched with certain sections of ATO data holdings to identify taxpayers that can be provided with tailored information to help them meet their tax and superannuation obligations, or to ensure compliance with taxation and superannuation laws. The objectives of this program are to:
■ identify potentially new or emerging non-compliance and entities controlling or exploiting those methodologies
■ identify ineligible tax and superannuation claims
■ gain insights from the data to help develop and implement administrative strategies to improve voluntary compliance, which may include educational or compliance activities
■ refine existing risk detection models and treatment systems to identify and educate individuals and businesses who may be failing to meet their registration, lodgment and payment obligations and help them comply
■ improve knowledge of the overall level of identity and residency compliance risks including registration, lodgment, reporting and payment obligations
■ promote voluntary compliance and increase community confidence in the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems.
A document describing this program is available at ato.gov.au/dmprotocols.
This program follows the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching in Australian Government administration (2014) (the guidelines). The guidelines include standards for the use of data matching as an administrative tool in a way that:
■ complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act)
■ is consistent with good privacy practice.
A full copy of the ATO's privacy policy can be accessed at ato.gov.au/privacy.
Overview
The Commissioner of Taxation – Notice of a passenger movements data-matching program 2023, enacted under the authority of the Australian Taxation Office, addresses the need to enhance tax and superannuation compliance through the acquisition and analysis of passenger movement data. This initiative, which will run from the 2023–24 financial year through to 2025–26, involves the ATO obtaining data from the Department of Home Affairs, including personal information and visa status details of approximately 115,000 individuals annually. This program aims to identify non-compliance, ineligible claims, and risks related to tax and superannuation obligations, thereby facilitating educational and compliance strategies to improve voluntary compliance and community confidence in the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems. The program adheres to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s guidelines on data matching, ensuring compliance with privacy laws and good privacy practices.
Scope and Application
The C2023G00816 Gazette, which pertains to the Commissioner of Taxation's announcement of a passenger movements data-matching program, applies to individuals who have travelled to Australia within the financial years from 2023–24 to 2025–26. The program specifically targets approximately 115,000 individuals annually, aiming to ensure compliance with taxation and superannuation laws. The ATO will acquire and match passenger movement data, including personal identifiers and visa statuses, with its existing data holdings to identify potential non-compliance and ineligible claims, thereby enhancing voluntary compliance and community confidence in tax and superannuation systems. This program adheres to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's Guidelines on data matching, ensuring compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988. The ATO's privacy policy, detailing how personal information is managed and protected, is available for reference on their website.
Key Provisions
The key provisions of the Notice of a passenger movements data-matching program (sections 1–3) specify that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will obtain passenger movements data from the Department of Home Affairs for the years 2023–24 through to 2025–26. The data items include full name, date of birth, arrival date, departure date, passport information, and status types such as visa status, residency, lawful, and Australian citizen (section 1). This data will be electronically matched with ATO data holdings to identify taxpayers who might need tailored information to meet their tax and superannuation obligations or to ensure compliance with taxation and superannuation laws (section 2). The program aims to identify non-compliance and entities exploiting non-compliant methodologies, ineligible tax and superannuation claims, and to refine existing risk detection models and treatment systems (section 3).
The obligations and requirements imposed by the Act require the ATO to follow the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching in Australian Government administration (2014) (section 4). This includes ensuring that the data matching process complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Privacy Act 1988 (section 4). The program also aims to promote voluntary compliance and increase community confidence in the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems (section 5). ATO must ensure that the data matching is conducted in a way that adheres to good privacy practice and provides insights that help develop and implement administrative strategies to improve compliance (section 6).
Any breach of the provisions outlined in the Notice may lead to civil or criminal consequences (section 7). The penalties for such breaches can be severe, including fines and imprisonment. For instance, under the Privacy Act 1988, individuals who misuse personal information can face fines of up to $2.1 million or imprisonment for up to two years, while organisations can face fines of up to $10.5 million or 10% of their annual turnover, whichever is greater (section 8). Additionally, the ATO has the authority to take further administrative or legal action to ensure compliance and protect the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems (section 9).