The existing processes for obtaining a statement of tax record (STR) are working well. CA ANZ does not recommend making changes to the STR requirements or processes. If information about court orders and penalties are required, then that should be undertaken through a separate process as this information may not be readily available to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in a timely manner to incorporate into a STR.

To improve the policy effectiveness of the PCP it is time to consider expanding the circumstances in which a STR is required to include:

• Organisations applying for government grants given the significant amount of government funds that are being provided as grants; and
• A lower threshold for government procurement to bring more entities into the regime that seems to be operating well.

It is also time to consider:

• Encouraging state and territory governments to adopt similar requirements in their procurement processes.
• Reinvigorating recommendation 9.2 of the Black Economy Taskforce’s final report which concerns encouraging the requirement for a STR through lower levels of the supply chain.

The expansion of the STR aspect of the procurement connected policy will most likely require extra funding for IT resourcing within the ATO to ensure that adequate STR reporting times are maintained given the additional expected traffic.