ATO (Australian Taxation Office)

The ATO (Australian Taxation Office) is the Australian Government’s principal revenue agency, the body a builder deals with for almost everything tax. It administers the systems a building business touches every quarter: the ABN, GST, the BAS, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments, fringe benefits tax, the super guarantee, and income tax.

What a builder deals with the ATO for

Registration: ABN and GST registration.
Lodgement and payment: quarterly BAS (GST + PAYG withholding + PAYG instalments), the annual income tax return, super guarantee.
Withholding: PAYG on employee wages, and the no-ABN withholding obligation on subbies who invoice without an ABN.
Debts: if tax is paid late, the ATO charges the general interest charge (which, from 1 July 2025, is no longer tax-deductible).

You interact with the ATO through Online services for business, through a registered tax agent (who can also lodge on your behalf and get extended due dates), or by phone on the business line (13 28 66).

Not the GTO or RTO

Three acronyms get crossed in construction, and they are unrelated:

ATO: Australian Taxation Office (tax).
GTO: Group Training Organisation (employs and places apprentices).
RTO: Registered Training Organisation (delivers the training and qualifications).

When someone says “the ATO”, they mean tax.

For a builder

Treat ATO money as not yours. GST collected and PAYG withheld are the ATO’s, held in trust through the quarter; spending them is the classic cashflow trap.
Lodge on time, even if you cannot pay in full. Late lodgement and unpaid debt attract interest and penalties; if you cannot pay, an ATO payment plan is cheaper than ignoring it.
Use a tax agent for the lodgement extension and advice, especially given construction’s lumpy income and subbie payments.

Also known as: Australian Taxation Office, the Tax Office.

What a builder deals with the ATO for

Not the GTO or RTO

For a builder

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