Contents - Connect-World

National Development
ˆ Lodge and have activity statements
processed;
ˆ Advise where a client is not required
to lodge a return;
ˆ View and update client identity
information;
ˆ Download calculators and decision
support tools;
ˆ Obtain information on call waiting
times for the premium phone service;
ˆ Notify appointment or cancellation
of a tax agent for a range of tax types;
ˆ Have two-way messaging within a
secure environment;
ˆ Receive alerts from the Tax Office
on new products, services and
changes;
ˆ Use an access control function
allowing tax agents to create separate
user accounts for their staff.
As well as 24-7 online access to information
and services, the benefits the
portal has provided tax agents
include:
ˆ Certaintyagents can ensure a
transaction has updated the client
record correctly;
ˆ Integrated viewtax agent and Tax
Office staff see the same information;
ˆ Responsivenessquicker answers
to questions;
ˆ Transparencymore information
online means clients have a greater
level of confidence and trust in the tax
system;
ˆ Improved data qualityagents can
correct data recorded by the Tax
Office;
ˆ Reduced costsagents can free up
time for other activities.
Benefits for the Tax Office include:
ˆ Increased compliancetax agents
can quickly work out if lodgments
have not been made or where amounts
are outstanding;
ˆ Improved data qualityexposing
records to the community ensures the
Tax Office has a data quality focus;
ˆ Reduced error ratesreduced manual
handling means less human error
and online lodgment with validation
checks ensures data is ready for processing;
ˆ Reduced coststhere are fewer calls
to call centres;
ˆ Platform for future development
the Tax Agent Portal provided the
platform for the Business Portal.
Reuse of common modules ensures
consistency of experience and outcome
and enables quicker development.
A number of challenges arose through
the development of the tax agent portal,
including:
ˆ Securitythe Internet presents specific
security challenges.
There are two levels of authentication
for the portaluser ID and password,
and public key infrastructure digital
certificate security.
Information travelling between the
Tax Office and end users is protected
by secure encryption.
The Tax Office has made the process
of installing digital certificates and
associated software faster and easier.
Independent bodies undertake a
threat risk assessment and conduct
penetration testing for each portal
release.
ˆ Accuracy and privacyexposing
client information online means data
has to be accurate and up-to-date.
The Tax Office confirms data quality
before exposing information on the
portal.
ˆ Different user environmentsto
effectively deliver online services it is
necessary to cater for a range of hardware
and software platforms.
The Tax Office designs products and
services for a range of operating systems
based on data about users of the
Tax Office and Business Entry Point
websites.
ˆ Accessibilityonline products must
be accessible to those with special
needs.
The Tax Office liaises with the Human
Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission and regularly undertakes
usability testing before implementation.
ˆ Meeting expectationsas more
products and services are provided
online, expectations for improvements
also increase.
Through collaboration with tax professionals
and committing to a threeyear
cycle of improvements, the Tax
Office lets tax agents know what’s
coming.
ˆ Speed to marketthere is a tension
between delivering improvements
quickly and ensuring those improvements
are of a high quality.
Part of meeting this challenge has
been the Tax Office creating reusable
code to eliminate duplication when
providing similar services to different
client groups.
ˆ Stability and availabilityas users
rely more on online products and
services, interruptions to availability
can have an adverse impact on their
businesses and their attitude towards
the product and the organisation.
The Tax Office has developed testing
strategies to ensure arrangements are
in place, which can address outages
and users know of problems and
downtime.
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