ATO - Penalty decision and review process

Question

According to an article in The Guardian, the ATO issued a $1,650 fine to a 97-year-old woman who had not prioritised tax obligations after her husband's death. The Tax Ombudsman has criticised this decision and the ATO has apologised, reversing the penalty. 1. How was this decision made? 2. Was this decision made by an outsourced ATO worker or an internal one? 3. Is it acceptable to the ATO that this decision was only overturned after it was raised publicly on LinkedIn?

Answer

See attached response.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000294 ATO - Penalty decision and review process.pdf (opens in a new tab)