In brief
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released updated guidance on the public country-by-country (CBC) reporting regime, which will apply to certain large multinational groups for reporting periods starting on or after 1 July 2024. The guidance introduces a recommended registration process for affected reporting entities, in addition to highlighting which entities are required to report and the information that must be disclosed publicly. According to the ATO, registration will offer benefits such as simplifying the process of submission and publication of the relevant CBC information, with the first reports due in 2026.
In detail
Public CBC reporting is a legislated transparency measure requiring certain large multinational enterprises to publicly disclose selected tax and financial information on a country-by-country basis.
The regime applies to reporting periods commencing on or after 1 July 2024. For example, a group with a 30 June year-end will first be required to report for the year ending 30 June 2025, with the report due by 30 June 2026.
Entities required to report
An entity must report under Australia’s public CBC regime if all of the following apply:
- It is a CBC reporting parent for the preceding period.
- It is a constitutional corporation, or a trust/partnership where all trustees/partners are constitutional corporations.
- It was a member of a CBC reporting group at any time during the reporting period.
- At any point during the reporting period, it or another group member was an Australian resident or a foreign resident operating an Australian permanent establishment.
- The group’s aggregated Australian-sourced turnover for the reporting period is AUD$10m or more.
- It is not an exempt entity or included in a class of exempt entities.
A CBC reporting parent is, broadly, an entity (not an individual) with annual global income of AUD$1bn or more, that is not controlled by another group member.
Registration in advance
Although there is no legislative requirement to register with the ATO in advance of submitting the required CBC information, the ATO’s latest guidance introduces a formal registration process for public CBC reporting parent entitles. While many foreign CBC reporting parent entities will not currently have any existing reference point in Australia or with the ATO, registration is available whether the parent is resident or non-resident in Australia.
Key features include:
- Registration form: The public CBC reporting parent completes and submits a registration form (available as a fillable PDF) to the ATO via email.
- ATO reference number: A non-resident parent entity without an existing ATO reference number automatically will be issued one upon registration.
- Authorised representatives: Registration allows the parent entity to authorise representatives to act on its behalf for public CBC reporting purposes, including lodging reports and applying for exemptions or extensions.
- Australian subsidiary/permanent establishment: Foreign CBC reporting parents are required to include details of an Australian subsidiary or permanent establishment in their group. For groups with several Australian entities, only one entity needs to be included (and the ATO recommends this should be the entity that generates the most significant portion of Australian sourced income).
- Acknowledgement: The ATO will acknowledge receipt of the registration form by email.
Registration with the ATO prior to submitting the actual information is intended to enable efficient processing and handling of related requests, such as extensions of time or exemption applications.
The authorised representative will be required to make a declaration that the information provided in the registration form is true and correct. Authorised representatives can include designated officers of the CBC reporting parent and there is no requirement for the public CBC reporting parent to have a public officer (who is an Australian resident person authorised to approve other Australian tax filings). The registration form can also be completed and submitted on behalf of the public CBC reporting parent by a registered tax agent.
What is required in the public CBC report?
The CBC reporting parent entity must provide the following information to the ATO for publication on an Australian Government website:
- Group information:
- Legal name of the reporting parent
- Names of all entities in the CBC reporting group
- Description of the group’s approach to tax.
- Jurisdictional information:
- For Australia and specified jurisdictions (including Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and others associated with tax incentives or secrecy), the following must be reported on a CBC basis:
- Name of the jurisdiction
- Description of main business activities
- Number of employees (full-time equivalent) at period end
- Revenue from unrelated parties
- Revenue from related parties not resident in the jurisdiction
- Profit or loss before income tax
- Book value of tangible assets (excluding cash and equivalents) at period end
- Income tax paid (cash basis)
- Income tax accrued (current year)
- Reasons for any difference between income tax accrued and the amount due if the statutory tax rate were applied to pre-tax profit
- Currency used in calculating and presenting the above information.
- For all other jurisdictions, the above information must be reported on an aggregated basis, unless the parent chooses to report on a CBC basis for all jurisdictions.
- For Australia and specified jurisdictions (including Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and others associated with tax incentives or secrecy), the following must be reported on a CBC basis:
The ATO has indicated that the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard GRI 207: Tax 2019 may be used as guidance in interpreting the publishing requirements. The ATO guidance also provides information on applying for an extension of time to lodge the public CBC report, and correcting errors. Material errors must be corrected within 28 days of discovery by submitting a revised report to the ATO.
The approved form for lodging the public CBC report will be an XML Schema, which will need to be submitted to the ATO via email. Further details on the XML Schema and instructions will be published by the ATO in the second half of 2025.
The ATO will publish the information it receives in public CBC reports on an Australian Government website as soon as practicable after receipt.
Significant penalties (up to AUD$825,000) can apply for late or non-compliant reporting.
Exemptions
The legislative framework for public CBC reporting provides the Commissioner of Taxation with discretion to provide exemptions from this new reporting requirement. The law is not prescriptive on the circumstances in which exemptions will be considered, but the explanatory memorandum to the enabling legislation noted that it may include considering whether disclosure of the data would impact national security, breach Australian or foreign laws, or result in substantial ramifications for an entity by revealing commercially sensitive information. The ATO has indicated that it will shortly issue a draft Practice Statement for consultation setting out its approach to exemptions.
Interaction with other transparency measures
The obligation for affected CBC reporting parent entities to publish specific tax data in Australia remains separate and distinct from any other obligations including the existing confidential CBC reporting filing obligations (in Australia and globally) and other public CBC reporting regimes, such as the European Union public CBC reporting directive. It is also irrelevant if the affected entity adopts any other voluntary tax transparency reporting.
It is worth noting that the Board of Taxation has acknowledged the potential for duplication under the public CBC report and Australia’s Voluntary Tax Transparency Code (VTTC) and has released for consultation a draft redesigned VTTC and consultation guide. This update follows extensive stakeholder consultation and feedback that the Board has already received which has informed its redesigned draft. Specifically, the Board has proposed, among other things, the following changes:
- separation of requirements under the VTTC based on whether or not a business is a ‘Public CbC reporter’ for VTTC purposes, and
- inclusion of an example template format for VTTC reporting, for both ‘Public CbC reporters’ and ‘Non-public CbC reporters’.
Comments can be made to the Board on its redesigned VTTC and consultation guide by 11 July 2025.
The takeaway
The ATO’s new guidance on public CBC reporting introduces a recommended registration process for large multinational groups, streamlining compliance and clarifying reporting obligations. Affected entities should consider registering with the ATO and soon commence the process by which they will prepare and disclose the required tax and financial information for each relevant jurisdiction under Australia’s mandatory public CBC reporting regime.
The first reports are due to be lodged electronically in the approved form to the ATO within 12 months after the end of the relevant reporting period, i.e. as early as 30 June 2026 for an entity with an end of June reporting period. We also expect the ATO will release the approved form in which the relevant information is to be lodged with the ATO in the second half of 2025.
Robust internal processes will be essential to ensure timely and accurate compliance with the new regime. Management and boards should review their group structures, reporting systems, and tax governance frameworks in light of these requirements, and consider seeking professional advice to navigate the new obligations.
Contact us
Nick Houseman
Australian Transfer Pricing Leader, PwC Australia
Georgie Hockings
Partner, Tax & Legal, PwC Australia
Sarah Stevens
Managing Director, Tax, PwC Australia
Greg Weickhardt
Partner, Global Tax, Melbourne, PwC Australia
Sarah Saville
Partner, Tax Reporting and Innovation, PwC Australia
Chris Vanderkley
Special Counsel, PwC Australia
Subscribe to PwC's monthly Tax update
Related content
Follow PwC Australia
