Atax at UNSW is supplying the tax auditing expertise that has enabled the Tax Office to significantly increase its capacity to crack down on evasion. The Tax Office has invested in enhancing its tax auditing capabilities through the expertise supplied by Atax, which is supporting the ATO’s new compliance focus. This shift from taxpayer education to tax compliance has recently received widespread media coverage.

In a graduation ceremony, held at UNSW’s Council Chambers on August 5, Atax and the Tax Office celebrated the new tax auditing capabilities of the inaugural graduates of the Diploma of Government. This innovative diploma, issued by the Tax Office, combines Atax’s Compliance Officer Applied Audit Program (COAAAP) with the professional experiences that these graduates gain in the workplace.

These Diploma of Government graduates, who are drawn from a number of business lines within the Tax Office including GST, Excise, Large Business and International, Small Business and Interpretation and Large Enterprise Compliance (ILEC), have demonstrated their leadership skills and capacity to undertake complex audit casework. They are contributing to organisational change by passing on their auditing expertise to other Tax Office staff.

Ian Read, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Active Compliance Leader, said at the graduation ceremony, “In the shift from a help and education role to a compliance focus, we need staff with the appropriate skills to undertake complex audit work”.

Ian Read also said he believed that these graduates provide an assurance to his organisation and the community that they have audit and leadership capabilities.

The successful graduates included:

Adriana Rus, SA
Alejandro (Joel) Paraiso, NSW
Belinda Hartley, Small Business Qld
Caroline Robb, NSW
Edin Sofic, Qld
Jacqueline Malek, NSW
Javier Landa, Vic
John De Petro, Vic
John Van Gorp, Qld
Kok Wah Mah, Vic
Emilia Matulas
Mark Purtell, Qld
Maxine Foulis, SA
Seetha Commuri NSW
Susan MCQuillan, Vic
Thyda Prang, Qld
Violeta Stojcevska, Vic

Atax would like to thank Mez Egg (program coordinator) and Patricia Blunt (ceremony coordinator) for making the ceremony a memorable event for all those involved.