If an anonymous tip off is made to the ATO that leads to a person being audited, does the ATO advise the person being audited that the audit is the result of a tip off? If the person being audited asks the ATO if there has been a tip off then is the ATO obligated to advise the person that there has been?
Hi @Heather7,
We treat tip-offs confidentially and don’t reveal the identity of the person who provided the information, even if they choose to identify themselves.
If the person being audited asks whether a tip-off was made, we’re not obligated to confirm or deny it. Audits can be triggered by a range of factors, including data matching, risk models, or other compliance activities. Not just tip-offs.
You can read more about how tip-offs work and what we do with them on our Making a tip-off page
I’m sure this would come under whistleblower protections to protect the person who made the tip-off.
Hi @Heather7,
We treat tip-offs confidentially and don’t reveal the identity of the person who provided the information, even if they choose to identify themselves.
If the person being audited asks whether a tip-off was made, we’re not obligated to confirm or deny it. Audits can be triggered by a range of factors, including data matching, risk models, or other compliance activities. Not just tip-offs.
You can read more about how tip-offs work and what we do with them on our Making a tip-off page
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