Mutual Client Register (MCR) 108-20111652

The Mutual Client Register (MCR) is the system that ATO uses to match their clients with Services Australia. It is a register of Persons that ATO and Services Australia have in common.

Note: not every Services Australia customer will be matched with ATO and added to MCR

The MCR conducts near-real-time matching and registration of mutual Persons and their related individuals. Conversely, it also enables early identification of when a Person or their related individuals is no longer a Person of interest. The main purpose of the MCR is to allow Single Touch Payroll (STP) data to be shared, for Services Australia customers that may be receiving an income-affected benefit or have a debt.

STP is an ATO initiative where employers submit information about employment income to the ATO each pay. The ATO is then able to share that STP data with Services Australia in certain circumstances.

STP data will only be shared for Persons

• matched and registered on the MCR, and
• with an active MCR Link Authority

Note: Not every Services Australia customer will be able to be matched with the ATO and added to the MCR (for example, a young person who does not have a Tax File Number).

A related individual is a person whose income may have an effect on the payability or ongoing entitlement to a payment of a customer, such as:

• Partner/Ex-partner: a person who is or was (in a relevant period) considered by the Services Australia to be a partner of a customer as above
• Linked Parent: a parent/step parent or guardian being assessed under Parental Income Test (PIT) as noted on Youth Allowance/ABSTUDY customer record
• Care receiver: a person (an adult or a child) who is linked to a carer payment or carer allowance recipient as the person receiving care

An active Link Authority is the underlying policy/legislation that allows for STP data to be shared across agencies for a matched Person on the MCR. The following four Link Authorities are recognised and used by the MCR system:

• Social Security Act
• Family Assistance Act
• Paid Parental Leave Act
• Student Assistance Act