We are delighted to share with our members that Inland Revenue (IR) has implemented a package of service changes aimed at addressing issues raised by CA ANZ and its members.  Communication delays and inconsistent audit processes were two of the top concerns from our members, highlighted in the 2024 joint CA ANZ–Tax Management New Zealand (TMNZ) survey.

IR’s response follows not only the 2024 survey findings, but also a series of discussions between CA ANZ, TMNZ, and Deputy Commissioners and senior IR officials. Inland Revenue’s internal review findings closely mirrored the concerns shared by members, creating a shared starting point for change.

What members told us

The 2024 survey highlighted several challenges in the day-to-day interactions between tax agents and IR such as: 

• Responsiveness remains a concern. Nearly one in four respondents rated IR’s responsiveness as poor or terrible, particularly through myIR, which is the primary contact channel for most agents.
• Audit activity is up, but communication lags.  41% of public practice respondents had engaged with IR on audit issues. While IR auditors were generally rated positively, communication and timeliness remained key areas for improvement.
• Debt interactions are more common, but experiences remain inconsistent. 79% of public practice respondents had worked with IR on unpaid tax debt. Although the overall experience was viewed positively, delays in processing and inconsistency in treatment were commonly cited frustrations.

These findings provided a platform for targeted discussions with IR senior management and helped prompt a formal and practical response. IR places high value on your feedback delivered through the survey and your communication with the CAANZ tax team.   The alignment between CA ANZ member feedback and IR’s internal survey results has enabled more targeted responses by IR and supports a continued collaborative approach. 

How Inland Revenue is responding

IR has begun to implement a range of initiatives to address the concerns raised, including:

• Training and capability uplift: Over 800 staff have completed training in areas such as customer compliance, debt management, and service expectations. In addition, nearly 200 staff have received technical tax training through external providers (with plans for more).
• Coaching and quality oversight: Team Leaders are being supported through new coaching programmes and are regularly reviewing audit cases and communications to provide feedback and ensure consistency.
• Improved service timeliness: IR’s internal monitoring of response times for web messages in March 2025 showed that 96% of tax agent web messages were responded to within 10 days– an improvement from earlier periods (but more still needs to be done to bring within member expectations). Phone response times have also improved, and tax agents’ calls are answered faster than general customer calls.

These steps indicate a commitment within IR to build internal capability and restore consistency in agent-facing services.  

Continued focus on digital experience

IR continues to position myIR as the preferred communication channel, but satisfaction with its performance has declined for a second consecutive year.  Frustrated members then revert to phone or email channels when urgent or unclear issues arise, in turn clogging those channels.

IR has acknowledged the need to improve myIR and related services. They have successfully trialled the use of a navigation assistant to help individual taxpayers find the right section in myIR, and are looking to roll out more navigation help for common tax agent needs as well. They also continue to urge tax agents not to send web messages about tasks that can easily be done in myIR, noting that most web messages are about filing or correcting tax returns, making a payment or refund and managing client lists.

Next steps: What to expect in 2025

Further progress is still required, particularly in addressing timeliness and complexity. However, IR’s response to date shows a clear commitment to addressing the issues 
CA ANZ has raised. CA ANZ will continue to engage with IR and monitor developments.

The next CA ANZ–TMNZ Inland Revenue Satisfaction Survey is scheduled for later in 2025.  We will assess and report whether IR’s initiatives have moved the dial toward a more consistent and positive experience for our members and tax agents.