The Tax Ombudsman has criticised the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for its poor service to registered tax agents, following a review that found widespread dissatisfaction and growing tension between the ATO and the agent community.
“I have been overwhelmed by the strong feedback from tax agents in this review. Agents are reporting an increasingly poor experience with the ATO’s agent phone line over the last 2 years, citing inconsistent advice and a lack of suitably skilled staff. This is contributing to a general feeling of not being valued by the ATO,” Tax Ombudsman Ruth Owen said.
Ms Owen emphasised that tax agents are central to the functioning of Australia’s tax system, representing 62 per cent of individual taxpayers and 96 per cent of business taxpayers.
“It’s time for the ATO to recognise that, publicly. Evidence from prior reviews suggests that agents’ engagement with their clients drives up tax compliance and contributes to the ATO’s goals of increasing voluntary compliance and closing the tax gap,” she said.
The Ombudsman said the review uncovered a mismatch between agents’ expectations and the level of support offered by the ATO. Many agents assume they are speaking to a specialist team when calling the dedicated agent line, but this is not the case.
“The ATO provides a faster service to agents but they expect a more specialised service designed to meet their needs. Most agents’ calls are directed to contracted call centre officers, with around half having less than 12 months experience with the ATO. They have very little tax technical training and cannot be expected to answer complex or overly technical calls,” Ms Owen said.
She said while the system works for general taxpayer queries, agents require more technical support.
“The call centre service works for general calls from taxpayers, but agents are more likely to have more technical or complex questions to resolve,” she said.
The report also found that the phone service was only part of a wider issue, as agents are often forced to call because they cannot complete tasks online.
“The agent phone line cannot be looked at in isolation. Agents usually call the ATO because they cannot do what they need to do online. As most agents said to me, ‘I don’t want to spend my time calling the ATO. If I could do it online, I would’,” Ms Owen said.
The ATO accepted all but one of the Ombudsman’s 14 recommendations, rejecting the proposal to route agents’ calls to more experienced or skilled staff. In its response, the ATO said:
“…we consider that within our operating environment, rather than creating a dedicated team to support agent calls, our focus should remain on investment in our digital channels for registered agents, training and escalation pathways, and creating more dedicated and skilled teams for those more complex areas—such as our current work underway on taxpayer relief including interest remissions.”
Ms Owen said she was disappointed by the ATO’s refusal to make immediate changes to its phone service.
“I am disappointed the ATO has not accepted that the service it provides to tax agents by phone is not meeting agents’ needs and must change. However, I am pleased to see the ATO’s commitment to improving its digital services for agents, to working more collaboratively with agents and to measuring agent satisfaction,” she said.
“Maybe by understanding agents’ needs better, the ATO may identify how its service can improve and implement further solutions. And we will continue to work alongside the ATO to look at further opportunities for improvement, including undertaking a more in-depth review of the ATO’s online service for agents in the new year.”
The Ombudsman said these concerns were long-standing, with similar issues flagged by the Australian National Audit Office in 2022 and in a 2025 Capability Review of the ATO by the Australian Public Service Commission, which noted the erosion of relationships with tax intermediaries.
“It’s time for the ATO to listen to the tax community and work with them. This isn’t about asking for better services for agents—it’s about recognising that tax professionals require a different kind of service, one that’s tailored to meet their distinct needs, and recognising the important role they play in serving taxpayers and the whole community,” Ms Owen said.
The full review, recommendations and the ATO’s response are available at taxombudsman.gov.au. A webinar presenting the findings will be held on 23 October. Feedback on future reviews can be submitted until 31 October.
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