Since its emergence in late 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic that is impacting on human health and national economies. From February 2020, the Australian Government commenced the introduction of a range of policies and measures in response to the emergence of COVID-19 that included:

• travel restrictions and international border control and quarantine arrangements;
• delivery of substantial economic stimulus, including financial support for affected individuals, businesses and communities; and
• support for essential services and procurement of critical medical supplies.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for implementing and administering six measures as part of the Australian Government’s economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the pace and scale of the Australian Government’s response impacts on the risk environment faced by the Australian public sector. This audit is one of five performance audits conducted under phase one of the ANAO’s multi-year strategy that will focus on the effective, efficient, economical and ethical delivery of the Australian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the ATO has effectively managed risks related to the rapid implementation of COVID-19 economic response measures.

Main conclusions:

• The ATO has been effective in managing risks related to the rapid implementation of COVID-19 economic response measures.
• The ATO undertook appropriate planning to support the rapid implementation of the six economic response measures — predominantly using its existing systems and processes to support governance, resourcing, and consultation.