This Strategic Working Group (SWG) meeting was held in Sydney in 2 April 2025.
Key Outcomes
Summary
Below is a summary of key outcomes. Note: The full key outcomes and Presentation materials are available in Online Services for DSPs
Welcome and introductions
Members of the DSP SWG met in Sydney on 2 April 2025.
Elissa Walker introduced herself as the new ATO Chair, welcomed members and covered administrative messages:
- Recognition we are in caretaker mode and therefore will be limiting our statements to factual issues and matters of administration during this period.
- Mark Sawade has been appointed as ATO’s new Chief Information Officer and Chief Security Officer.
- The APSC’s ATO Capability Review has been published, ATO has 90 days to respond.
Industry Co-chair, Matthew Prouse, gave a high-level environmental scan from an industry perspective:
- A webinar is now available alongside Data Minimisation and Retention guidance, published on DSPANZ website.
- The Inquiry into the Digital Transformation of Workplaces published its Future of Work Report in January, with Artificial Intelligence being a key focus.
The year ahead
2025 will see a shift in focus for the SWG. We’ve sought member feedback on priorities to inform the forward agenda as we look to close/address the gap between ATO and Industry values.
More generally, the SWG should steward the future. ATO is involving members in earlier conversations around key strategic pieces like Tax 3.0 and the ATO’s digital strategy.
ATO recognises the value of moving toward microservices and the Digital Services Gateway remains part of the forward plan.
Tax 3.0
Members participated in a group activity discussing industry trends, where ATO should place focus and how the current environment needs to change to support progress toward Tax 3.0.
Members noted the importance of ATO defining Tax 3.0 and ensuring strategic conversations are not limited to digitalising what we have now. For example, we would like to talk about taxing crypto currency and what kind of automated industrialised solutions may enable this.
The principles of Tax 3.0 were established some time ago. ATO acknowledges this and has published examples of Tax 3.0 principles as we would interpret them today.
Counter Fraud Program Overview
The ATOs Counter Fraud Program will transition to a setting which enables indicators of potential fraud to be identified and acted on in real time. It complements ATO initiatives and will align ATO fraud prevention controls and responses with industry best practice, namely financial institutions such as banks. It will also place more control in the hands of taxpayers.
ATO Digital Strategy
Members were given a summary of potential focus areas for the ATO Digital Strategy refresh and asked to provide thoughts on what should be considered throughout the refresh process.
Suggestions from the group included:
- recognise emerging technology as an opportunity, and acknowledge how the environment is going to change or move
- encourage collaboration on legislative challenges with industry early
- consider the broader environment, including work being undertaken by other agencies
- consider how we transition to an ‘always in’ tax system, while encouraging taxpayers to understand their obligations and remain involved
- focus on investing in the end user, not the system.
Small Business Pre-lodgment Assurance workshop
Members were asked to raise opportunities to improve pre-lodgement assurance from their perspective. They then prioritised ideas and broke into groups to further explore three concepts:
- increasing confidence through validation and sharing of business data
- consolidating/reviewing form requirements and sharing back-end pre-fill data
- enabling DSPs to innovate on providing guidance in software, while avoiding providing tax advice.
Members were invited to submit their interest in participating in working groups to explore these themes in more depth.
Other business
Working group EOIs for MTAS will be coming out in the next couple of months.
Two papers were tabled:
- Modernising of Tax Administration Systems.
- Digital Service Provider Experience Survey.
The next face-to-face SWG meeting will be held in Brisbane 26 June 2025.
Participation is available to those Digital service providers listed as SWG members for the 2025 year.
If you have any questions, contact the secretariat by email at DPO@ato.gov.au or raise a ticket in the DSP service desk.
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