The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced it is to continue to offer dedicated and tailored services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Assistant Taxation Commissioner, Karen Foat said the ATO wanted to make tax and superannuation as easy as possible for all Australians, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“Our dedicated Indigenous Helpline received a record 25,034 calls last year,” Ms Foat said.
“This line provides specialised tax and super assistance, tailored to meet the needs of these communities,” she said.
“We’ve seen consistent growth in the calls over the years, and this year we expect to see even more calls to the line, as awareness of this service grows in the community.”
She said the ATO’s Indigenous Helpline staff received specific training targeted towards working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“We know that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people rely on the helpline to receive tax and super information instead of using online resources,” Ms Foat said.
“Our staff often provide large amounts of information over the phone; sometimes even talking people through their tax return step-by-step.”
She said this year the ATO would continue to offer Tax Help and Pop-up Shop services in Indigenous communities, including local community centres.
“Some Tax Help centres will also have volunteers available to assist in languages other than English and some centres will also specialise in helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” Ms Foat said.
“We have dedicated teams of staff with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds based in Townsville and Brisbane.”
