We welcome feedback on proposed new tax regulator secrecy exceptions.
Secrecy provisions apply to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). There are exceptions where the ATO or TPB can reveal protected tax information.
This consultation paper:
considers more situations where disclosure is appropriate
seeks feedback on proposed new exceptions.
Treasury roundtables
Treasury will hold virtual roundtable discussions during the consultation period. They will supplement the written submissions process.
Context
The review does not consider:
whether the current design of the ‘tax secrecy’ framework is appropriate
how existing exceptions work.
This paper contributes to strengthening our regulatory arrangements. This is a priority area for action in the government’s PwC response.
Consultation outcomes
The government announced changes to tax secrecy and information gathering to:
- improve information sharing
- prevent fraud
- strengthen regulatory action
- maintain safeguards.
The changes are part of the ‘Protecting the tax system against fraud’ measure in 2026–27 Budget Receipt Measures.
Information sharing
The changes will add more exceptions to existing tax secrecy legislation. This allows the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) to share information to:
- prescribed private‑sector fraud prevention programs to help prevent fraud connected to the tax and superannuation systems
- certain non‑law enforcement agencies to help investigate serious offences
- more prescribed professional disciplinary bodies to investigate possible breaches of codes of conduct
- certain government agencies to run programs, tax incentives, schemes and other regulatory functions.
The latter includes adding a government purposes category to the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.
The changes will also allow the ATO to share protected information to:
- government agencies to investigate possible codes of conduct breaches by employees
- Internet Service Providers to disrupt websites that promote or facilitate tax or super fraud.
Information gathering
The government will introduce new information‑gathering powers so the:
- ATO can issue notices to produce documents or give information for criminal investigations into tax‑related offences
- TPB can require documents to be produced before starting an investigation.
There will be safeguards to make sure the ATO uses this power appropriately.
Other proposals
The government will not introduce an ‘exceptional and unforeseen circumstances’ exception.
The government will continue to explore the potential for taxpayers to safely share tax information. This includes work under the productivity package and ‘Boosting Productivity – Better Regulation’ measure in the 2026–27 Budget Payment Measures. The latter increases Consumer Data Right funding by $62 million.
Next steps
The government will consult on draft legislation to apply these changes.
