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Australian Taxation Office Annual Report 2020-21

Appendix 8: Service commitments and activities

The ATO reports on a range of service commitments and provides information about our activities that deliver outcomes for the community. Our annual results are provided in the following tables.

Service commitments

Our service commitments are designed to assure the ATO and the community that the services we provide are of a consistent and high standard. Many of our commitments have targets, which are meaningful to our clients and challenge us to deliver the best possible service.

We regularly report on our service commitments. These are available at ato.gov.au/servicecommitments.

We did not meet all our targets for service commitments in place at 30 June 2021.

Commitments to service – Timely, 2019–20 and 2020–21
Service commitment		Target (%)	Achieved 2019–20 (%)	Achieved 2019–20 (indicator)	Achieved 2020–21 (%)	Achieved 2020–21 (indicator)
General calls over the tax time period, as at 31 October – A total of 3,085,476 calls were answered, 124,157 abandoned (4% of calls offered) and 3,276 calls were blocked in 2020–21.	answered within 5 minutes	80%	79%	X	84%	A
Tax practitioner calls over the tax time period, as at 31 October – A total of 648,949 calls were answered, 13,131 abandoned (2% of calls offered) and zero calls were blocked in 2020–21.	answered within 2 minutes	90%	90%	A	92%	A
Average wait time for inbound general calls^(a)	less than 10 minutes	10 min	–	–	06 min 04 sec	A
Electronic taxpayer requests	finalised in 15 business days	90%	93%	A	92%	A
Private rulings	finalised in 28 calendar days of receiving all necessary information	80%	88%	A	81%	A
Superannuation guarantee employee notifications^(b)	finalised within 4 months	60%	16%	X	7%^(c)	X
Superannuation guarantee employee notifications^(b)	finalised within 9 months	90%	88%	X	37%^(c)	X
Electronic tax returns and activity statements^(d)	finalised in 12 business days	94%	99%	A	100%	A
Electronic amendments	finalised in 20 business days	90%	97%	A	95%	A
Paper tax returns, activity statements and amendments	finalised in 50 business days	80%	98%	A	97%	A
Australian residents' ABR registrations	finalised in 20 business days	93%	99%	A	99%	A
Electronic Commissioner of Taxation registrations	finalised in 20 business days	93%	98%	A	97%	A
Complaints received	resolved in 15 business days or within the date negotiated with the client	85%	83%^(e)	X	86%	A

A = Met; X = Not met; – = New, not previously reported in the annual report for the given year.

Notes

(a) In 2020–21 we trialled an alternate service commitment as an indicator of client experience. We are committed to providing a level of service that best supports the community and ensures access to our network.

(b) Service commitment will be reviewed during 2021–22.

(c) Service commitment result impacted by a backlog of superannuation guarantee work resulting from the movement of staff to support the government’s stimulus measures.

(d) Target applies to current-year tax returns only.

(e) 72% of complaints resolved in 15 business days, regardless of additional time negotiated with the client.

Commitments to service – Keep me informed, 2019–20 and 2020–21
Service commitment		Target (%)	Achieved 2019–20 (%)	Achieved 2019–20 (indicator)	Achieved 2020–21 (%)	Achieved 2020–21 (indicator)
Electronic tax returns (individuals not in business)	inform if unable to finalise within 30 calendar days of receipt	100%	100%	A	100%	A
Private rulings	contact within 14 calendar days if request will take more than 28 calendar days to resolve	80%	93%	A	90%	A
Superannuation guarantee employee notifications	notification commenced within 28 days of receipt	99%	100%	A	99%	A

A = Met; X = Not met

Activities

We undertake a range of activities to support the delivery of the tax and superannuation systems. Outputs include information assistance services, processing and assurance activities, along with internal services for our staff.

Activities and outputs – Information and assistance services, 2018–19 to 2020–‍21
Activity	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21
Number of non-digital, inbound customer service interactions	9,996,161	10,525,162	8,883,652
Number provided of:
interpretative guidance products	51,584	53,191	53,442
private rulings	5,285	4,126	3,977
Perceptions that the process was fair in:
disputes	49%	52%	54%
individuals	49%	52%	54%
business	50%	54%	55%
audits, advice or private rulings	62%	58%	60%
individuals	61%	57%	59%
business	65%	65%	63%
Perceptions that the final decision was fair in:
disputes	57%	65%	58%
individuals	57%	67%	57%
business	57%	61%	59%
audits, advice or private rulings	62%	58%	60%
individuals	61%	57%	60%
business	64%	63%	61%

Activities and outputs – Obligations and entitlements processing, 2018–19 to 2020–21(a)
Activity	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21
Number of registrations processed	1.9m	1.7m	1.5m
Number of returns, statements and forms processed	334.0m	358.5m	317.1m
Proportion of:
income tax returns lodged	88.8%	89.8%	89.4%
activity statements lodged	88.6%	85.5%	84.6%
Proportion of tax returns lodged electronically	97.3%	97.8%	98.2%
Number of payments processed	29.7m	27.3m	25.0m
Proportion of payments made and received through electronic channels	98.6%	98.9%	99.2%

Note

(a) Some items reported for 2020–21 (such as proportion of tax returns lodged electronically) relate to the 2019–20 tax year.

Activities and outputs – Revenue assurance, 2018–19 to 2020–21
Activity	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21
Number of refunds issued	13.6m	14.6m	14.8m
Number of compliance activities undertaken	4.3m	3.9m	5.2m
Value of tax collected:
gross	$533.1b	$537.0b	$580.1b
net	$426.0b	$404.7b	$451.4b
Value of refunds paid	$107.2b	$132.3b	$128.7b
Value of compliance liabilities as a result of compliance audits, reviews and other checks:
raised	$15.3b	$12.7b	$12.0b
collected	$10.5b	$9.5b	$6.8b
Value of penalties and interest collected	$2.2b	$2.4b	$1.8b

Activities and outputs – Securing retirement income, 2018–19 to 2020–21(a)
Activity	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21
Number of lost superannuation accounts^(b)	674,190	433,918	361,986
Number of ATO-held superannuation accounts^(c)	5.4m	5.6m	6.2m
Proportion of member contribution statements lodged on time^(d)	97.1%	99.4%	94.8%
Number of excess contributions determinations issued^(e)	192,357	181,068	161,375
Number of Division 293 tax assessments issued^(f)	233,030	228,668	278,942
Proportion of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) with contraventions reported by approved SMSF auditors compared to the total number of lodging SMSFs^(g)	–^(h)	–^(h)	2.6%⁽ⁱ⁾
Value of lost superannuation accounts	$16.5b	$10.3b	$9.2b
Value of ATO-held superannuation accounts^(c)	$4.0b	$3.6b	$4.7b
Value of excess contributions determinations issued	$1.9b	$1.9b	$1.9b
Value of Division 293 tax assessments issued	$730.7m	$667.7m	$829.3m
Proportion of super guarantee compliance casework consisting of ATO-initiated work	40%	23%	43%

Notes

(a) Some items reported for 2020–21 relate to the 2019–20 tax year.

(b) For 2018–19, funds transitioned their lost member reporting to event-based reporting, improving the accuracy and timeliness of lost member account reporting.

(d) Of those member contribution statements lodged by large APRA-regulated funds.

(e) Determinations issued in 2020–21 primarily relate to the 2019–20 year.

(f) Division 293 assessments issued in 2020–21 primarily relate to the 2019–20 year.

(g) For 2020–21, the measure name has been changed to reflect a new calculation method. For prior years, published results were based on total registered funds rather than total lodging funds.

(h) Based on the new calculation method, the prior-year results for this measure were 2.2% in 2018–19 (relates to the contraventions for 2016–17 as at June 2019) and 2.6% in 2019–20 (relates to the contraventions for 2017–18 as at June 2020).

(i) Relates to the contraventions reported for 2018–19 as at June 2021.

Activities and outputs – Administered program outputs, 2018–19 to 2020–21
Activity	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21
Program 1.5 – Australian Screen Production Incentive – Number of tax offsets processed	155	237	208
Program 1.7 – Fuel Tax Credits Scheme – Number of registered participants	246,666	252,819	259,074
Program 1.7 – Fuel Tax Credits Scheme – Proportion of payments processed within service standard time frames	99%	99%	99.4%
Program 1.9 – Product Stewardship for Oil – Number of claims processed	368	376	367
Program 1.9 – Product Stewardship for Oil – Number of participants registered	45	43	40
Program 1.9 – Product Stewardship for Oil – Proportion of payments processed within service standard time frames	95%	89%	87%
Program 1.11 – Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset – Number of beneficiaries of entitlements determined	2.9m	2.8m	2.7m
Program 1.11 – Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset – Value of entitlements determined	$737.6m	$711.8m	$669.7m
Program 1.11 – Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset – Proportion of original contributions paid within 60 days	99.98%	99.92%	99.99%
Program 1.12 – Private Health Insurance Rebate – Number of individuals with private health insurance rebate details assessed through the tax system	7.7m	7.9m	7.9m
Program 1.13 – Superannuation Co-contribution Scheme – Number of beneficiaries of entitlements determined	376,398	393,154	391,812
Program 1.13 – Superannuation Co-contribution Scheme – Value of entitlements determined	$121m	$123m	$122m
Program 1.13 – Superannuation Co-contribution Scheme – Proportion of original co contributions paid within 60 days	95.8%	97.7%	92.6%
Program 1.14 – Superannuation Guarantee Scheme – Number of superannuation guarantee complaints leading to:
a superannuation liability being raised	10,917	8,726	11,569
no result	3,804	3,806	4,791
Program 1.14 – Superannuation Guarantee Scheme – Number of employees who have had superannuation guarantee entitlements raised as a result of:
ATO compliance activities	173,876	182,663	202,483
voluntary disclosures	105,463	164,613	306,013
Program 1.14 – Superannuation Guarantee Scheme – Number of:
employers whose records are checked	22,236	16,290	17,051
checks leading to a superannuation liability being raised	15,965	12,273	12,264
Program 1.14 – Superannuation Guarantee Scheme – Proportion of employers for whom superannuation guarantee liabilities were raised by the ATO	1.7%	1.4%	1.3%
Program 1.15 – Targeted Assistance Through the Taxation system – Number of interest payments processed	520,274	2.67m	1.41m
Program 1.15 – Targeted Assistance Through the Taxation system – Proportion of unclaimed superannuation accounts where interest is paid to the account owner compared to total accounts transferred	100%	100%	100%
Program 1.16 – Interest on Overpayment and Early Payments of Tax – Number of transactions where an overpayment has occurred under Part IIB, Part III, Part IIIA of the T(IOEP)A	337,356	480,852	240,155
Program 1.18 – Seafarer Tax Offset – Number of tax offsets processed	Less than 5	Less than 5	Less than 5
Program 1.18 – Seafarer Tax Offset – Value of tax offsets processed	$9.9m	$9.4m	$9.5m

Activities and outputs – Corporate services, 2018–19 to 2020–21
Activity	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21
Rate of unscheduled absence (days)	13.6	12.5	10.5
Employee perceptions of senior leadership	58%	64%^(a)	62%

Note

(a) Result from delayed 2020 APS Employee Census released in January 2021.

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