Jono: restoring trust after identity fraud

Jono’s income tax records were compromised when two returns were lodged by a tax agent he had never engaged. Although the ATO cancelled these unauthorised returns, Jono’s legitimate refund was later diverted to the same unauthorised tax agent after he altered his bank account details.

When Jono contacted the ATO, he was advised to reach out directly to the unauthorised tax agent—a step he understandably refused. This left Jono without his refund and concerned about future dealings with the ATO.

Our investigation revealed that the ATO had been repeatedly notified that the tax agent was unauthorised yet continued to allow access and ultimately paid the refund to them.

We issued an initial view recommending:

• Immediate remediation of Jono’s account and repayment of the refund with interest.
• An apology for the client experience.
• Referral of the unauthorised tax agent to the Tax Practitioners Board.

The ATO agreed to remediate Jono’s account and return the refund. We verified the remediation and confirmed Jono’s concerns were addressed. The complaint was closed with Jono satisfied that fairness and accountability were restored.