ATO updates myGov linking process to combat fraud

In its corporate plan for the 2025–26 financial year, the ATO highlighted identifying and preventing fraud as one of its top five priorities and increased funding for its Counter Fraud Program. The ATO also committed to deploying real-time monitoring capabilities for refund processing, secure messaging and a call verification feature on its app, which was launched in early April 2026. 

“Having conversations with your clients about the updated process helps safeguard your clients against fraud and strengthens the integrity of the tax and super systems,” the Tax Office said.

The ATO encouraged accountants to direct clients who need help to its latest guidance on linking to the ATO, and to support clients who access ATO online services through myGov in setting up and using myID as a more secure option.

“[We recommend] clients use myID, the Australian Government's Digital ID app, to sign in to myGov and link to ATO online services [which] can make it easier for [clients] to link their myGov account to the ATO and provide stronger account security,” the ATO said.

Last year, the ATO released its 2025 Fraud and Corruption Control Plan, implementing its fraud and corruption framework through a prevention, detection, and response model to enable the effective mitigation of fraud.

In March, the Tax Office said that activity has shown a growing number of attempts by fraudsters to “impersonate taxpayers, misuse stolen identity information, and pressure tax professionals into acting on fraudulent instructions”. 

It warned that tax professionals are on the front lines of this threat and thus play a critical role in protecting client information while maintaining the integrity of the tax system. This follows the ATO finding that impersonation scams jumped by 150 per cent over 12 months in 2025, with 90 per cent occurring by email.

Many teams rely on outdated checks like phone or email confirmation, which it said that scams can easily bypass, Eftsure previously told Accountants Daily.

Eftsure chief technology officer David Higgins said ATO impersonation scams via phone, SMS, and email “continue to dominate” with convincing fake refund or legal action threats.

The Tax Office said: “We recognise the trusted role [accountants] play in supporting your clients and safeguarding the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems.”