The accuracy of the content is not guaranteed. Please rely only on the authorised document. The Tax Office will shortly upgrade its computer systems in preparation for the introduction of The New Tax System. Tax Commissioner Michael Carmody said the system changeover, due to occur from 28 June to 3 July, would ensure the Tax Office had the right computer systems in place to implement the tax changes. "Our annual changeover of systems capability is nothing new," Mr Carmody said. "But what is new is the sheer scale of the changeover required to put the necessary systems in place for The New Tax System. This is our largest systems changeover ever. "At this time each year, we make about 500 program changes to our processing systems. However, this year we are making eight times as many, in excess of 4000 program changes. "We have put a significant effort into planning and trialing the upgrade in the last few months to ensure the changeover is as smooth as possible. Our primary objective is to minimise any impact on the public. Of course, in an exercise this large, there will be some disruptions to our normal services. "We are significantly changing our work processes and procedures to gear up for the tax changes and the changeover will provide the opportunity for many of our staff to undergo training in these new procedures. Our IT staff will work throughout the entire changeover to introduce the new systems. "In previous years, we have conducted the changeover on the weekend, however the size of the changeover this year means we will have limited systems availability which will result in a reduction in services from 28 June to 2 July (Wednesday to Sunday) inclusive. "During this period, we will not be able to answer a limited range of account-specific questions. These are, for example, account-specific refund, debit or interest enquiries or updates in the processing of tax returns because some computer systems will not be available. "The changeover will not affect our ability to answer general tax time enquiries or to assist people with tax reform enquiries. Indeed, we will be extending the hours of operation of our tax reform infolines to further assist. Our tax reform infoline for business, 13 24 78, will be open at the following times:
"People will still be able to make all payments as normal through the usual channels such as Mailpay and Bpay. "We will continue to provide technical and legal advice as normal. "Of course, we won't be processing income tax returns during this time but we expect to recommence this on 3 July with limited processing. We expect to achieve our normal income tax returns processing levels from 10 July. "Tax agents using our Electronic Lodgment Service may experience some disruption to the gateway prior to 28 June; we are taking steps to inform them individually of the changes," Mr Carmody said. CANBERRA
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