Legal notice for Child Support access to Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data and systems 277-07110000

The Child Support relationship with the ATO changed as a result of:

• the intention of both organisations to disengage from each other (Child Support is now part of Services Australia and as of late 2008, has separated from the ATO infrastructure), and
• the ATO's Easier Cheaper More Personalised Change Program, which will replace all its current business systems with a single new system, called Integrated Core Processing (ICP)

The ATO and Child Support have reviewed the legislation that permits Child Support to request data from the ATO and for the ATO to provide it through direct access to ATO systems.

As a result, it has been agreed to issue the ATO with a legal notice requesting ATO data and prior to accessing ATO systems for that purpose, and the Commissioner has agreed that Child Support may continue to directly access ATO systems for specific and relevant information only after a legal notice has been issued.

Staff must be aware that when requesting information from the ATO or accessing ATO systems directly for specific and relevant information they are exercising legal powers of the Registrar and that they will:

• be causing a legal notice to issue to the ATO at the time of the request, or
• be required to issue a legal notice prior to accessing ATO systems directly for specific and relevant information