The Australian Taxation Office is warning small business owners the AUSkey system will be retired within weeks.
From March 27, the ATO will join 26 government agencies in making the switch from AUSkey and Manage ABN Connections to the MyGovID.
The changes will effect anyone who uses the ATO’s Business Portal, where businesses can lodge activity statements or pay super guarantee contributions.
ATO assistant commissioner for small business experience Andrew Watson warned there would be no extensions granted.
“That’s why we’re strongly urging everyone who uses the ATO’s Business Portal and hasn’t set up their myGovID yet to make the move now. We’re here to help every step of the way,” Mr Watson said.
“myGovID and RAM help protect your business and ensure no one can access your information or act on your behalf online without your permission. We’ve had more than 670,000 myGovID downloads so far, and we think most people will find it solves a lot of problems they had with AUSkey.”
Business owners will also need to link their myGovID to their business through the Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) service and all employees requiring access to the Business Portal will need to set up their own myGovID.
Any businesses who fail to make the switch before the deadline will not be able to access the Business Portal. The ATO have support measures in place to help businesses through the transition, which can be found at ato.gov.au/mygovid.