The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will acquire names and addresses and other details of visa holders, their sponsors, and migration agents for the 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
The data items that will be obtained are:
Address history for visa applicants and sponsors
Contact history for visa applicants and sponsors
All visa grants
Visa grant status by point in time
Migration agents (visa application preparer who assisted or facilitated the processing of the visa)
Address history for migration agents
Contact history for migration agents
All international travel movements undertaken by visa holders (arrivals and departures)
Sponsor details (457 visa)
Education providers (educational institution where the student visa holder intends to undertake their study)
Visa subclass name.
It is estimated that records relating to approximately 1,000,000 individuals will be obtained.
These records will be electronically matched with certain sections of ATO data holdings to identify non-compliance with registration, lodgment, reporting and payment obligations under taxation laws.
The purpose of this data matching program is to ensure that taxpayers are correctly meeting their taxation obligations. Its objectives are to:
Improve intelligence on the overall level of compliance with taxation obligations by visa holders, sponsors, migration agents
Test the veracity and strengths of existing risk detection models and treatment systems and identify areas for improvement in the ATO’s suite of compliance models and treatment systems and practices
Improve the integrity of the data on the Australian Business Register by cancelling ineligible registrants
Identify potentially new or widespread fraud methodologies and those entities controlling or exploiting those methodologies
Assist in developing and implementing administrative strategies to improve voluntary compliance by visa holders, sponsors, and migration agents; and
Ensure compliance with registration, lodgment, correct reporting and payment of taxation and superannuation obligations.
A document describing this program has been prepared in consultation with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. A copy of this document is available:
at www.ato.gov.au/dmprotocols
by sending an email to SpecialPurposeDataSteward@ato.gov.au with reference to DIBP Visa Holders data matching program
The ATO complies with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching in Australian government administration (2014) which includes standards for data matching to protect the privacy of individuals. A full copy of the ATO’s privacy policy can be accessed at www.ato.gov.au/privacy