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Registered agents have raised serious concerns about the quality of service and consistency in advice when using the ATO phone line, the Tax Ombudsman has said.
Inconsistent service delivery listed as major gripe in ATO phone line review
11 April 2025
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9 minute read
Tax Ombudsman Ruth Owen has shared some of the key early insights and complaints uncovered through her review into the ATO's phone line support for registered tax and BAS agents.
Speaking in a recent CA ANZ podcast, Owen said one of the main complaints she had heard from tax and BAS agents during the review was around the lack of consistency with the services provided through the ATO phone line.
In some cases, the capability within the service offer from the ATO did not meet their expectations, she said.
"[Registered agents] can phone the phone line five times in a row and get a different answer each time," Owen told the Small Firm, Big Impact podcast.
"Agents tell me that a few years ago, they could call the phone line and have confidence that the person at the end of the phone had the capability to answer the sort of questions that agents and accountants have.
"These tend to be questions that need a technical answer, and they're not getting that response."
Owen said while she didn't want to criticise the people working hard at the Tax Office, the system needed to operate in a way that set people up to be successful.
"What tools do they have? What training have they had and what support do they have from the ATO to be able to answer the questions that agents have?" she asked.
Submissions by the major accounting bodies in response to the review have also reflected similar issues.
CPA Australia said there was a "significant mismatch" between the expectations of registered agents and the service provided by the ATO registered agent phone line.
"The inconsistencies and inefficiencies highlight that the current service standards do not align with agents’ expectations," the professional body said.
"Furthermore, the difficulties encountered with the client-agent linking process clearly indicate that the phone line support for this function is inadequate and issues need to be addressed."
CPA members highlighted inconsistent knowledge and training of ATO staff as a key issue with the phone line.
"Members report that ATO staff answering technical queries are frequently unfamiliar with tax concepts, even when contacted through the relevant fast key codes," the body said.
"For example, staff seemed to lack understanding of closely held trust withholding despite being contacted through the correct activity statements and withholding fast key codes."
Registered agents were also frustrated by the heavy reliance on scripts by ATO staff, who often struggle to address issues that fall outside predefined responses.
"If a script does not provide an answer, agents are often unable to escalate matters appropriately," the submission said.
The Institute of Public Accountants said there were usually fewer issues with the phone line when calls are escalated to more experienced staff or technical queries are dealt with by specialists.
The IPA made a range of recommendations based on member feedback, including a wider range of Fast Key Codes for more targeted and expert assistance.
The professional body said there should also be a dedicated registered agent line for dealing with emerging security breach issues such as compromised TFNs, identity theft and hacked myGov accounts.
It also called for the ATO to review the functionality of Online Services for Agents, including the visibility of available functions.
"This could reduce calls for issues which can be dealt with online," the body said.
CA ANZ agreed that registered agents had serious concerns about the quality of service and consistency in advice when using the ATO phone line.
"Depending on the nature of the call, there can be long wait and hold times to connect with an ATO officer," the professional body said.
"It can also be difficult to get connected to an ATO officer who has the required knowledge and expertise to answer questions, or authority to make decisions."
Information provided by some ATO officers was incorrect or inconsistent.
"Some ATO officers also ask ‘proof of identity’ questions that exceed what is necessary to identify a tax agent, [while] other ATO officers provide exceptional assistance," it said.
The body made a range of recommendations for improving the ATO phone line, including the implementation of a call back service, reviewing how the ATO recruits, trains and retains staff, maintaining a skills inventory, reviewing the effectiveness of scripts and reviewing the effectiveness of the Fast Key Codes.
CA ANZ said the ATO should also provide more detailed and practical information for tax agents on its website, adhere to the 28-day service standard and provide a dedicated phone line with dedicated officers to answer client agent linking queries.
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