As a client of Extrado Accountants & Advisors, the protection of your data and personal information is very important to us.
We have taken another step towards tighter security by implementing an application called “ATO SmartDocs”. This application will enable us to deliver ATO correspondence (such as a notice of assessment) to you digitally and, more importantly, securely.
The email you will soon start to receive from us will look different to the email you would have received in the past so we wanted to give you a heads up that it is not a scam!
Rather than the document being attached in the email or uploaded to a portal, there will be a link to the document instead. For added security, you will also receive an SMS with a security pin which you will need to enter to access the email link.
What can you expect?
When you receive electronic mail from the ATO, you will receive a text (SMS) message from us. This will advise you to log into your email account and use the 6-digit code in the text message to access your mail.
Note, our system can only send mail digitally if we have a valid email and mobile number for you.
If your details have changed, please contact our office to update your records.
What are the benefits?
You receive your mail faster
Traditional paper mail sent from the ATO can take days or even weeks to reach you through postage methods. Electronically, we can have your mail to you the day it is available.
It’s more secure
ATO mail often contains sensitive information including your TFN, taxable income, home address and other personal details. Identity theft is on the rise and documents sent by email or traditional post increase the risk of your information falling into the wrong hands.
It’s better for the environment
With our new system we can receive and deliver your ATO mail to you without using any ink, envelopes, stamps, fuel or even a single sheet of paper. Across our thousands of clients this is a win for the environment.
It’s more reliable
The ATO now uses six different methods to deliver mail to taxpayers. One of these is delivery through myGov which poses problems for many clients that might not realise the document has been delivered and may miss an important lodgement or payment deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, The system produces an email from our client service manager. If you have a question, you can reply to the email or call our office on 1300 EXTRADO (1300 398 723).
Our system will only send mail digitally if we have a valid email and mobile number for you. Check your junk mail for the email, otherwise contact our office to confirm your details.
Our system will only send mail digitally if we have a valid email and mobile number for you. This could mean that the SMS has gone to an old or incorrect mobile number, but the code in the link is of no use without access to the email. Please contact our office to confirm your details.
If you are receiving ATO mail through traditional postage methods it means we either do not have current valid email and mobile details for you, or you have previously asked us to stay with paper. Please contact us to update your details or preferences.
We encourage you to give our digital system a go for the reasons above, but we still understand that some people are not ready or able to use digital systems. Just let us know if you prefer paper.
Access to your document is via a link and SMS security pin. If the email goes astray, the person who receives the email won’t be able to open the document (whereas they would if the document was an attachment).
You certainly can. Once you have opened the document, you will have the ability to save it to your local computer or to cloud storage as well as print a copy.
Never fear. We can resend the email and generate a new SMS security pin.
We will only upload a copy of the most important ATO documents (like your notice of assessment) to your portal account which you can then access at any time.
The new system is only for documents we receive from the ATO. All documents that require your approval such as tax returns, financial statements, and activity statements, will still be uploaded to your secure portal for your approval prior to lodgement.
How can Extrado help?
If you have any questions in relation to our new ATO mail system, please do not hesitate to contact us.
