Commissioner of Taxation - Notice of a data matching program
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will acquire details of individuals in receipt of Paid parental leave payments and Medicare entitlement statements from the Department of Human Services (Centrelink and Medicare) for the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years.
The data items that will be obtained are:
■ Paid parental leave scheme
– Identifying particulars of the employer (Australian business number, legal and trading names, addresses)
– Detail of payments made by the employer to the recipient (employee) (start and end dates, amounts paid)
– Identifying particulars of the recipient (employee) of paid parental leave (name address, date of birth, customer reference number)
– Detail of payments made by DHS to the employer, for payments made by the employer to the recipient (employee) (start and end date, amounts paid)
■ Medicare entitlement statements
– Identifying particulars of the recipient of the statement (name, address, date of birth)
– Detail of the periods the person was not entitled to Medicare benefits (start and end dates, current status)
It is estimated that records for more than 500,000 individuals will be obtained for each financial year.
These records will be electronically matched with ATO data holdings to identify non-compliance with registration, lodgment, reporting and payment obligations under taxation laws.
The objectives of this data matching program are to:
■ Ensure that taxpayers are correctly claiming entitlement to the invalid and invalid carer tax offset and exemption from payment of the Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge
■ Work with taxpayers and intermediaries to obtain a better understanding of the identified risks and trends of non-compliance
■ Develop education strategies so that compliance is better understood and easier in the future
■ Expedite the processing of income tax returns and payment of refunds to taxpayers who are genuinely entitled to claim these offsets and exemptions
■ Undertake verification activities where the information obtained indicates a taxpayer may not be entitled to claim the offset or exemption, either partly or in its entirety
■ Ensure compliance with registration, lodgement, correct reporting and payment of taxation and superannuation obligations.
A document describing this program has been prepared in consultation with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. A copy of this document is available at www.ato.gov.au/dmprotocols
The ATO complies with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on Data Matching in Australian Government Administration (2014) which includes standards for data matching to protect the privacy of individuals. A full copy of the ATO’s privacy policy can be accessed at www.ato.gov.au/privacy |
Overview
The Commissioner of Taxation - Notice of a Data Matching Program, published in the Government Gazette as C2018G00593, was enacted to address the problem of non-compliance with registration, lodgment, reporting, and payment obligations under taxation laws, particularly in relation to entitlements such as the invalid and invalid carer tax offset and exemption from the Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge. This initiative was introduced by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and aims to ensure taxpayers accurately claim their entitlements while expediting the processing of income tax returns and refunds for those genuinely entitled. The program involves acquiring data from the Department of Human Services regarding Paid Parental Leave payments and Medicare entitlement statements for the 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 financial years, to be matched against ATO data holdings. The policy objective is to enhance taxpayer understanding of compliance requirements, develop education strategies, and verify entitlements to ensure adherence to taxation and superannuation obligations. The ATO adheres to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's guidelines to safeguard individual privacy during this data matching process.
Scope and Application
This legislation pertains to the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) acquisition and use of personal data from the Department of Human Services (DHS), specifically targeting individuals who received Paid Parental Leave (PPL) payments and Medicare entitlement statements for the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20. The data obtained includes identifying particulars of employers and recipients, along with details of payments made and periods of Medicare ineligibility. The ATO intends to use this information to match it with their own data holdings to identify potential non-compliance with tax laws. This includes ensuring accurate claims for tax offsets and exemptions, understanding compliance risks, and facilitating the processing of tax returns. The program is designed to be compliant with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on Data Matching, with privacy protections in place to safeguard individual data. The geographic reach of this legislation is national, applying to all taxpayers in Australia who meet the specified criteria, and it is implemented through the ATO's data matching protocols.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of the legislation, C2018G00593, provide for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to acquire and use data from the Department of Human Services (DHS) for the purpose of a data matching program (section 1). Specifically, the ATO will obtain details of individuals in receipt of paid parental leave payments and Medicare entitlement statements from Centrelink and Medicare for the 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 financial years. This data will include identifying particulars of employers and employees, details of payments made, and periods where individuals were not entitled to Medicare benefits. These records will then be matched with ATO data holdings to identify non-compliance with taxation laws.
The obligations and requirements imposed by this Act on the parties involved are primarily centred around the use and protection of personal information. The ATO is mandated to obtain the specified data from DHS and to match it against their records to identify non-compliance with tax obligations (section 2). The ATO must comply with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on Data Matching, which includes standards to protect the privacy of individuals. This means that the ATO must ensure that the data is used solely for the purpose of tax compliance and that measures are in place to safeguard the personal information obtained. The document describing this program and the ATO’s privacy policy are available on their website.
Any breaches of the provisions of this Act could lead to civil or criminal consequences. While the legislation does not explicitly detail the penalties for non-compliance, it is understood that breaches of data protection standards could result in substantial penalties. Under the Privacy Act 1988, for instance, unauthorised collection, use, or disclosure of personal information could lead to penalties of up to $2.1 million for corporations. The Act also emphasises the importance of ensuring that the information is used strictly for the purposes outlined and that appropriate measures are in place to protect individual privacy. Non-compliance with these requirements could therefore result in legal action, financial penalties, and reputational damage.