Investigations 

The Commissioner has a duty to ensure that revenue laws are administered fairly and equitably.  Part of that responsibility is achieved by conducting audits of taxpayers’ records.  The TAA protects your rights as a taxpayer at the time of an investigation while allowing the Commissioner to gain access to and protect valuable documents and information.

When an investigator attends your premises to conduct an audit, he or she must display an identity card.  An investigator may enter and remain on your premises to exercise his or her powers of investigation, including the requirement for you to provide oral and written answers, to produce relevant material in your control or possession and to provide assistance in conducting an investigation.

Where the premises are residential, an investigator can exercise the above powers, but may only enter those premises within reasonable hours and with the consent of the occupier.  Otherwise, the investigator must obtain a warrant to enter residential premises or in certain urgent circumstances and with the prior written approval of the Commissioner, an investigator may enter those premises without a warrant. 

An investigator has the authority to search your premises and to make copies of documents.  In the rare event that an investigator removes items from your possession, he or she can provide you with a receipt for what is taken. 

As well as asking you to show records to verify your taxation liability, the Commissioner may obtain information independently from other State or Commonwealth taxing authorities, and other government departments.