Conditions of use

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About these Conditions of Use

These Conditions of Use set out the terms under which the ATO:

  • makes its Developer Materials available, and
  • accepts registrations of End User Products from registered Digital Service Providers.

These Conditions of Use are governed by, and are to be construed in accordance with, the laws for the time being in force in the Australian Capital Territory.

See the Glossary at the end of these Conditions of Use for terms that are defined.

See ATO digital wholesale services conditions of use for more information.

Conditions of Use may change

These Conditions of Use may change, and it is the responsibility of the Digital Service Provider (DSP) to ensure they are compliant with the current Conditions of Use. The Conditions of Use that apply to the developer material provided, your registration as a DSP (as the case may be) or your software product consuming our services, are those that are current as at that time.

Developer materials

Developer Materials:

  • are only intended to provide guidance to Digital Service Providers in producing and testing their End User Products,
  • do not represent a complete, exhaustive, or exclusive set of tax, superannuation, registry or other interactions, positions, or outcomes, and
  • may change from time to time (including to reflect changes in legislative and administrative requirements).

The ATO may provide or otherwise make available Developer Materials to you, but you acknowledge that the ATO is under no obligation to do so. Some materials may be made available from this website, whereas others may not be available to the general public. Certain materials will only be available to Digital Service Providers registered with the ATO.

You should:

  • rely on your own skill and judgement when assessing whether and how to use any Developer Material,
  • check to ensure you have the most up to date version of that material, and
  • obtain appropriate professional advice to ensure that material is suited to your particular circumstances.

The ATO endeavours to provide accurate and up to date materials for DSPs. If you or your professional advisors believe that any developer materials or test materials are incorrect or produce an incorrect result, you should notify the ATO immediately.

Your use of developer materials

Unless the ATO provides Developer Material with another licensing arrangement and/or additional restrictions, the licence set out on the Copyright page will apply to your use of that material.

However, your use of Developer Material is at your own risk. All Developer Material is provided by the ATO "as is" and without charge – the ATO:

  • does not guarantee that Developer Material is available nor, when available, that it is complete, up to date and accurate,
  • assumes no responsibility for the unavailability of, or for any errors, faults, or omissions in, Developer Material,
  • gives no express or implied warranties (and to the full extent permitted by law excludes all statutory warranties) in relation to that Developer Material (including as to its performance or fitness for a particular purpose), and
  • will not be liable in any way for any loss or damage (including special, indirect, or consequential) arising in any way from or in connection with that Developer Material or its use, performance, or unavailability, even if the ATO has been advised of their possibility.

End user product registration

So that an End User Product may be used (by its end users) to interact with ATO information systems in a given way that End User Product must be registered and have met the requirements for use by the ATO, for interactions of that class or type.

To have your End User Product registered in relation to a class or type of interaction with ATO information systems, you must:

  • be registered as a Digital Service Provider,
  • ensure that your End User Product meets all functional and security requirements described in the Developer Materials relevant to that class or type of interaction,
  • successfully test your End User Product against the Test Materials relevant to that class or type of interaction,
  • provide a declaration to (and in the form reasonably required by) the ATO certifying that your End User Product meets all those functional requirements, and has been tested against and produced the same results as those Test Materials, and
  • provide the information relating to your End User Product the ATO reasonably requires.

You can make and submit an application for registration of your End User Product on the Product Registration page. Submitting an application does not give an entitlement to be registered.

Continuing responsibilities for your End User Products

Digital Service Providers are responsible for:

  • Ensuring end users are aware of and accept the End User Agreement
  • keeping abreast of any changes to, and in compliance with any legislative or administrative requirements,
  • advising the ATO immediately of any changes to your business or product environment.

The ATO is not, under any circumstances, responsible for ensuring that your End User Product complies with any laws or administrative requirements applicable in Australia or elsewhere.

Listing on the Product Register

If the ATO approves for use and registers your End User Product in relation to a class or type of interaction with ATO information systems, then the ATO will list (where required) your End User Product on the Product Register. If you provide a description of your End User Product for inclusion in that listing, it is your responsibility to ensure that description accurately reflects your product.

Complaints about your End User Product

If the ATO receives a complaint about the accuracy of your End User Product or the matters you have certified, the ATO will refer the complainant to you for resolution of the complaint. You must investigate any complaint made to you in relation to your End User Product, and if the complaint is substantiated, rectify the matter within a reasonable time.

Management of ATO information systems

The ATO reserves the right at all times to manage and control its information systems and the interactions by the end users of End User Products with its information systems. The ATO reserves the right at any time, for any reason and without notice to:

  • suspend or terminate any or all interactions with ATO information systems by any or all end users (or category of end users) using any or all End User Products, and/or
  • suspend or terminate the registration of any or all End User Products in relation to any or all classes or types of interactions with ATO information systems.

Where possible, the ATO will make reasonable attempts to contact you before suspending or terminating the registration of your End User Product.

Operation of ATO systems

The ATO will use reasonable efforts to rectify issues that it is aware of affecting ATO information systems or the mechanisms it provides to interact with them. However, those mechanisms and systems are provided "as is" – the ATO:

  • does not guarantee their accuracy or their availability,
  • assumes no responsibility for their unavailability or for any errors, faults, or omissions in them,
  • gives no express or implied warranties (and to the full extent permitted by law excludes all statutory warranties) in relation to them (including as to their performance or fitness for a particular purpose), and
  • will not be liable in any way for any loss or damage (including special, indirect, or consequential) arising in any way from or in connection with them or their use, performance, or unavailability, even if the ATO has been advised of their possibility.

Glossary

ATO means the Commonwealth of Australia represented by the Australian Taxation Office.

Developer Materials means the information, artefacts, tools, documentation, Test Materials and other materials which are published, made available or otherwise provided by the ATO (in any form or format) to assist Digital Service Providers produce End User Products which can successfully interact with ATO information systems.

Digital Service Provider (DSP) means anyone who develops and delivers digital services to the community including software developers, gateway providers, system implementers, and clearing houses.

End User Product means a software product created or developed for use by end users, which could include other Digital Service Providers.

Test Materials means the conformance suites, documentation and other materials made available from time to time by or through the ATO for use in testing the accuracy of End User Products, and particularly in relation to specific classes or types of interactions with ATO information systems.