Issues Review - Tax Ombudsman

Review: ATO’s administration of Director Penalty Notices

Feedback open now and closes Tuesday, 29 September 2026.

Reviews and reports

Director Penalty Notices (DPNs) are an important tool for the ATO to administer and collect certain company tax debts – GST, PAYGW and superannuation guarantee – directly from directors of companies. However, their use can have significant impacts on individual taxpayers, not all of whom are aware of their personal liabilities as a director.

In the 2024-25 financial year, the ATO issued more than 84,000 DPNs to directors of approximately 64,000 companies, a 136% increase over the prior financial year, as part of the strengthening of its debt collection functions.

Although DPNs are an important tool to ensure that directors who allow their companies to fall into debt are not able to escape liability, their use can also cause serious consequences. This is especially the case where directors have ceased their directorships or been unaware of the liabilities due to personal circumstances, such as illness, which may have prevented their active involvement in the management of the company.

An increasing area of concern is how coerced directorships are being used to perpetrate financial abuse, with DPN liabilities being a further impact on victim-survivors. Drawing on our body of complaints regarding DPNs as well as stakeholder feedback and the ATO’s ongoing work in relation to its vulnerability framework and debt strategy, this review would explore how the ATO uses and administers DPNs and any opportunities to improve its approach.

What we will examine

The review will examine whether before, during and after issuing a DPN:

The ATO’s communications to current and former directors provides adequate and timely information about their obligations, the director penalty, underlying tax debt and actions that they may take.

The ATO appropriately and consistently considers the circumstances of the affected directors, including during the recovery of that debt.

The ATO appropriately and consistently considers and responds to factors such as vulnerability, coercive directorship and financial abuse.

How to participate

We welcome feedback from current and former company directors, advisers, tax professionals and community organisations with DPN experiences.

There are several ways to participate.

Webinars: attend one of a series of webinars:

We will also hold a webinar at the end of the review, to share our findings and recommendations to the ATO.

Survey – complete a short online survey (5 minutes).

Email us – [email protected] please write to us with your feedback, experiences or contributions.

Call us – contact (02) 8239 2108 or (02) 8239 2123 during business hours 9:00am – 5:00 pm AEST, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

Write to us – post your written feedback to:

Tax Ombudsman
Director Penalty Notices Review
GPO Box 551
Sydney NSW 2001

Submissions must be received by 5:00pm AEST Tuesday, 29 September 2026.

Next steps

We expect to publish our report by April 2027.

Terms of Reference

Media release

Review: ATO’s management of remission of the general interest charge

The government and community should be compensated for deliberate late payment of tax liabilities and that late payment should not be rewarded, but there may be a range of factors that hamper a taxpayer’s ability to pay their liabilities on time. This review will explore whether ATO GIC decisions are supported by policies, systems and processes that align with principles of good tax administration, such as consistency, transparency and getting it right.

Review: ATO’s management of compromised accounts

Scheduled to begin in 2026

Reviews and reports

In April 2024, the Tax Ombudsman published a report of our examination of one aspect of tax identity fraud. That investigation and report focused on the importance of bank account integrity and the ATO’s risk management controls to prevent fraudsters from changing bank account details in legitimate taxpayer accounts. That aspect of the tax identity fraud investigation has been concluded and the ATO’s response to our recommendations has been published online.

Another key aspect of tax identity fraud is the experience of taxpayers (and their representatives) when their tax account is compromised. Feedback from the community and practitioners indicate that affected individuals face significant difficulties. These include challenges in recovering tax refunds lost to fraud and in accessing their tax accounts via myGov or the ATO app, which often requires long wait times on phone calls to unblock. Accordingly, this review will seek to investigate whether the ATO’s management of compromised tax accounts are consistent with the principles of good administration, such as ease of access, low cost of compliance and putting it right.

What will we examine?

Whether the ATO provides timely and adequate support to taxpayers and their representatives in assisting them to secure and restore their online tax account.
Whether the ATO’s policies and processes for supporting taxpayers who have tax debts or have lost their tax refunds due to compromised tax accounts are reasonable and proportionate to the risks.
Whether the ATO’s current processes to prevent future occurrences of compromise are effective and sustainable.
Opportunities for the ATO to improve its collaboration with other agencies to strengthen coordinated responses and treatment strategies for identity fraud cases, ensuring timely resolution and support for affected individuals.

Review: ATO online services for agents

Reviews and reports

Status: Review completed, August 2026

Online Services for Agents (OSfA) is a secure system provided by the ATO for registered tax and BAS agents. It allows agents to access a range of client information and services, offering real-time visibility and control over client data.

The ATO has been encouraging agents to use self-service platforms like OSfA to streamline processes and reduce reliance on phone support. And we know agents far prefer to transact online than to call the ATO. Using online channels makes interactions more efficient and reduces wait times for agents. We understand that time is money for agents!

However, feedback from recent consultation with the agent community as part of our Review of the Registered Agent Phone Line highlighted several issues and concerns with OSfA and its integrated communication channel: Practice Mail.

Agents reported inefficiencies in using the portal .They also said they would be more likely to use OSfA if it had the capability to fulfil their key transaction requirements and could do so in a timely way to meet the needs of their clients. These issues have raised questions about the system’s effectiveness and usability, which is why we commenced this review in early 2026.  

The review examined what specific changes are required for OSfA and Practice Mail to deliver the functionality and responsiveness that agents need to perform their roles efficiently and with confidence. Consultation was undertaken with the tax community in March and April 2026 to seek feedback and suggestions for improvement.

The review found ATO Online Services for Agents is not keeping pace with tax agents’ needs, with agent satisfaction falling from 76% in 2022 to 63% in 2026.

We made 3 recommendations to the ATO to help modernise its digital services, cut admin burden and make it easier for agents to support their clients. These improvements will create efficiencies for agents and the clients they serve and promote greater and more timely voluntary compliance with tax and superannuation obligations.   They will also deliver efficiencies for the ATO, its systems and staff.

The ATO accepted all three recommendations and we will monitor its progress on implementation.

Reviews and reports

What we will examine

How to participate

Next steps

Reviews and reports

What will we examine?

Reviews and reports

Subscribe to our newsletter