ATO Plans Psychological Tests For 900 Staff

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

18 August 2003

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is planning to compel 900 of its staff to undergo psychological assessments to ensure that the employees have the appropriate level of customer service skills to deal with the public.

The move has been greeted with disdain by the Community and Public Sector Union, though Commissioner Michael Carmody has stated the measure is necessary as the nature of the job has changed significantly in recent times with the introduction of new technology and working methods.

"These changes are enabling the Tax Office to do more active compliance work and provide more assistance to taxpayers over the phone," Mr Carmody was quoted as saying in an Australian Financial Review report.

The CPSU meanwhile hit back at the commissioner's decision, saying the ATO's management was preoccupied on creating a "big bang" culture of change, and countered that many of the employees have more than ten years experience and already undergo "rigorous performance testing".

The ATO is also planning to scrap 276 casual staff and encourage them to apply for full time positions, though the CPSU has unsuccessfully appealed to the Australian Industrial Relations Committee to prevent these workers having to compete with external candidates for the jobs.

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