Tax inclusion for vulnerable groups

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for administering the tax and superannuation systems in Australia. The ATO aims to build trust and confidence in the systems by making it easy for people to comply (and hard not to!). However, some groups in the community may face difficulties or disadvantages in understanding and meeting their tax and super obligations or accessing their benefits and concessions. These groups may include, but are not limited to, people from migrant or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, older citizens, people with disabilities, people in rural or remote areas, people experiencing financial hardship, or people with low digital literacy or access. Your challenge is to use open government data to identify these vulnerable or at-risk groups, understand their needs, preferences, and behaviors, and design a digital solution that can educate, assist, and support them to comply with their tax and super obligations, and receive any benefits they are entitled to through the tax and super systems.

You are expected to deliver a solution that consists of two parts (with an additional optional future planning component):

1. A data analysis component that uses open government data to identify and profile vulnerable or at-risk groups who face challenges or barriers in complying with their tax and super obligations.
2. A digital solution component that proposes a new or improved digital service, tool, platform, or channel to help these groups comply and access their entitlements. The digital solution can be a new product or an improvement on an existing product. The solution should demonstrate creativity, innovation, and real-world applicability. The solution should also consider the ethical, legal, and social implications of using data and digital technologies to address the problem. You will need to design a proof of concept (PoC), define your specific situation (i.e., which vulnerable group(s) you are targeting and why), and outline the digital solution to improve the experience of that group(s). The PoC should answer the question: how might we use digital platforms and insights to improve the experience of vulnerable groups, and improve the ATO’s relationship with them to uplift service offerings?

(optional) Identify how digital platforms could be used to proactively identify indicators of vulnerability. How might correlations between data points such as income (frequency, amount, source) or behaviors (delayed lodgement) give an early indication of vulnerability? How can we better use data to design digital systems? What kind of data could we collect that doesn’t compromise citizen privacy?
Note about datasets: Many datasets of interest have been added as a guide for which vulnerable groups could be targeted. You are not expected to design a digital solution for all these groups or to use all these datasets. You may choose to focus on a particular dataset of relevance to your targeted group.

The ATO is committed to fostering fair and equitable tax and super systems that serve the needs and interests of all Australians. We value diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, and strive to deliver services that are tailored, user-friendly, and responsive. We support this challenge as an opportunity to leverage open government data and digital innovation to identify and assist vulnerable or at-risk groups who may face difficulties or disadvantages in complying with the tax and super systems and ensure they receive the benefits they are entitled to under these systems. We hope this challenge will inspire participants to use data and technology for social good and to create solutions that can make a positive difference in the lives of many Australians.


External Links

• ATO digital strategy | Australian Taxation Office
• Sharing economy reporting regime | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au)
• Working arrangements, August 2023 | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)
• Home - Australian Digital Inclusion Index
• Overview of our services | ATO Software Developers