When you email us, we will:

• record your email address

• only use your email address for the purpose that you provided it

• not add your email address to a mailing list unless you have requested this

• not disclose your email address without your consent.

Other personal information we collect, for example through the use of an online form, will only be:

• collected by lawful and fair means

• used for a lawful purpose

• collected with your consent.

For full details refer to the TPB Privacy policy.

Online security and scams

Scammers may contact you through phone calls, text messages, face-to-face or online through email or social media. Phishing scams are designed to trick you into giving away your money, passwords and personal details, such as your tax file number (TFN).

Scammers can also call people, using software that resembles a legitimate TPB phone number to disguise the caller’s true identity.

Using this method, scammers contact members of the public pretending to be from government agencies or businesses such as the TPB, or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). They often ask you to provide or confirm personal details or demand immediate payment of fake debts or fines, in order to avoid threats such as imminent arrest or deportation. To further legitimise the interaction, scammers often initiate a three-way telephone conversation between the scammer, the client, and another scammer impersonating the client’s tax agent or law enforcement officer. 

Be aware of what you share – don’t give your personal details (such as your TFN or date of birth) unless you know you can trust that the person you are dealing with is who they say they are. 

If you receive a suspicious phone call claiming to be from a practitioner or from a government agency such as the TPB, never call back on the number the potential scammers provide; instead hang up and call back directly on a number independently sourced. You can find our contact details at www.tpb.gov.au/contact-us.

From time to time we will send you emails, SMS or post messages on our official social media profiles promoting new services or alerting you to important information.

Using our website

Our website uses cookies in very limited ways.

Cookies are pieces of information that a website can transfer to an individual's computer hard drive for record keeping. Cookies can make websites easier to use by storing information about your preferences on a particular website. The information remains on your computer after the Internet session finishes.

The first time you visit our website one cookie will be stored on your computer. On each return visit the system checks if there is a www.tpb.gov.au cookie on your computer. If so, it notes its presence and records your visit as a previous visitor. This cookie is stored permanently unless you choose to delete it. The information is used by us to help improve our website by understanding how it is used. There is no attempt made to identify individual users in any way.

On each website visit a session cookie is temporarily placed on your computer, which is used to maintain navigation information during your visit. These session cookies are deleted from your computer at the end of each Internet session.

Most Internet browsers are pre-set to accept cookies. If you would prefer not to receive cookies, you can adjust your internet browser settings to refuse cookies, or to warn you when cookies are being used.

Further information

• Refer to the Scamwatch website run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissioner www.scamwatch.gov.au.

• Refer to the website hosted by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy on cyber security risks and simple steps to protect your personal and financial information online  www.staysmartonline.gov.au.

• If you believe you might have unwittingly shared sensitive information or divulged your TFN, phone the ATO on 1800 467 033.

• Business owners, including tax professionals, should report data breaches to the ATO on 1800 467 033.

• If you are ever unsure about a request for information or the validity of an interaction by the ATO, call the ATO Scam Hotline on 1800 008 540 or visit ato.gov.au/scams.