Tax agents report ATO dissatisfaction in Ombudsman review

A new review from the Tax Ombudsman into the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO’s) service delivery for tax agents has uncovered strong feelings of dissatisfaction and poor experiences with its phone line.

According to Tax Ombudsman, Ruth Owen, tax agents reported “inconsistent advice” and “a lack of suitably skilled staff” manning the ATO’s agent phone line, which has left agents feeling undervalued by the ATO.

Owen said the review has once again highlighted the “vital role” agents play within the Australian tax system.

“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.

“Our review found a mismatch of expectations between what agents expect of the ATO’s phone line and the service the ATO can offer agents, leading to increasing frustration for both parties.

“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.

“The call centre service works for general calls from taxpayers, but agents are more likely to have more technical or complex questions to resolve.”

The Tax Ombudsman also noted that the issues raised in the review have also appeared previously in a 2022 Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report and an Australian Public Service Commission Capability Review of the ATO in 2025, which found that “the ATO’s relationship with tax intermediaries had eroded in recent years”.

“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’,” Owen said.

The ATO agreed to all but one of the Ombudsman’s 14 recommendations, rejecting the idea of routing agents’ calls to more experienced or skilled staff. In its formal 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”.

“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.

“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.

“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.”