ATO reports surge in director IDs following extended deadline

 As of 5 December, over 1.9 million director IDs have now been issued, according to recent statistics provided by the ATO.

This is a significant increase of around 100,000 applications from 30 November when the ATO reported that there were 1.8 million directors that had applied. 

The ATO announced on 30 November that it would not apply compliance resources to determine whether individuals met their director ID obligations by 30 November 2022 if they apply for a director ID by 14 December 2022.

An ATO spokesperson told SMSF Adviser this week that call wait times have significantly decreased in recent days, with the average wait for phone support now down to 6 minutes.

“This is a great time for directors to set aside some time to apply and get the support they need. We encourage directors not to wait but to apply now, so they can avoid a last-minute rush and have their application done and dusted well ahead of 14 December,” said the Tax Office.

The ATO has also reminded directors that as part of the director ID process they will first need to apply for a myGovID.

“This requires a person to verify their identity by submitting identity documentation that is verified against government-held information,” the ATO explained.

“We recommend people make sure they have their identity documents with them before they start, and leave themselves some time to complete the process.”

While the ATO said that the myGovID system has been running well, there are several reasons why the application process may not be able to be completed immediately.

“For example, if a person has changed their name of has differing names across identity documents,” the Tax Office said.