ATO to shut down tech trouble hotline as more self-help services go digital

The Australian Taxation Office is reminding businesses and tax professionals that its technical help hotline will be disconnected in November, urging callers to visit its online self-help services instead.

The Technical Help Desk (THD) phone line, which allows business operators and accountants to query the ATO about common errors and tech hangups, will go dark on November 20.

From that date, callers will be directed to the tax office’s online portal.

“Since its introduction in 2010, the demand for the THD service has drastically reduced due to the improvement in our online services,” the ATO said Friday.

“Recently all THD content was refreshed and consolidated onto ato.gov.au, providing an improved user-friendly experience to resolve common errors and issues.”

Troubleshooters can also ask the ATO’s own digital chatbot for advice, according to the statement.

The move, first announced in June, comes as the tax office centralises and increases its digital resources.

A long-awaited refresh of its small business resources is expected to go live in the coming weeks.

However, strong demand for phone services appeared to catch the ATO off-guard in late June, when a flurry of last-minute end of financial year tax queries temporarily overloaded its phone lines.

“Many queries we receive can be self-managed through our online services,” the tax office said at the time.

“We encourage you to self-serve if you can.”