What's your job about?
As a whole, the ATO is responsible for regulating the tax and superannuation systems. This is a big job which is broken up into many different areas within the ATO.
During my graduate program, I've had the opportunity to work in a few different rotations. My current business line is Integrated Compliance, but I’m still very new to this area.
My previous rotation was in Superannuation and Employer Obligations as a case officer. In this role, I was responsible for 10-12 cases at a time, which aimed to establish whether employers were meeting their superannuation obligations. In cases where employers missed, underpaid, or paid the incorrect superannuation amount to their employees, I would work with the employer and tax agent to get superannuation guarantee charge statements lodged. This would calculate interest and administration fees on the superannuation, where super guarantee had not been correctly paid.
What's your background?
I grew up in South-Western Sydney in a town called Silverdale. In school, mathematics was my favourite subject and so I decided to study a Bachelor of Applied Finance and a Bachelor of Economics at Macquarie University.
I worked part-time while at university and had plans to travel before COVID-19 put a damper on this, but I’m looking forward to making up for this over the next few years.
Towards the end of university, I still wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to pursue. As a result, I was very drawn to graduate programs which had rotations that allowed participants to work in a few different areas. In particular, the graduate program was ideal due to the size of the organisation and the ability to move around and try different things.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Most definitely! I am yet to come across someone in the ATO with the same background.
Whether with previous employment, education level, age or a variety of other factors, everyone is different, and all have their story to tell. There is training and support available for anyone of any background who is willing to put the effort in to get where they want to go.
Regarding the ATO Graduate Program specifically, this requires a university degree, but many other pathways are available.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The thing I love most about ATO is that the work we do has real-world implications and impact on the community. During my Superannuation and Employer Obligations rotation, I handled cases of employers not paying superannuation to their employees. I had the opportunity to speak to the employees and hear their stories firsthand and achieve meaningful results for them. It was very rewarding to help taxpayers and ensure businesses were meeting their obligations.
What are the limitations of your job?
While the rotations in the Graduate Program are one of the things that drew me to this job, it is also one of the downsides. In my current rotation area, the cases will often go for 6-12 months, which means I won’t have time to see a case from beginning to end. This process is especially difficult when you factor in the time it takes to learn and settle into the job. While you will learn lots of great skills and get exposure to different areas, it can be difficult to further practice these skills given the timeframe.
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