Storing Tax File Number (TFN) Declarations
What are our requirements regarding storing Tax File Numbers (TFN) declarations?
TFN recipients must take reasonable steps to ensure that:
a. all staff are aware of the need to protect individuals’ privacy when handling TFN information, and
b. all staff who collect or access TFN information are aware of:
1. The circumstances where TFN information may be collected
2. The prohibitions on the use and disclosure of TFN information
3. The need to protect individuals’ privacy when handling TFN information, including under the TFN guidelines & under the Privacy Act, and
4. The penalties or other sanctions that apply for breaching the TFN guidelines or applicable laws relating to the handling of TFN’s
The TFN guidelines provide the following
6.1 TFN recipients must take reasonable steps to:
a. protect TFN information from misuse & loss, and from unauthorized access, use, modification or disclosure and
b. ensure that access to records containing TFN information is restricted to individuals who need to handle that information for taxation law, personal assistance law or superannuation law purposes.
6.2 A TFN recipient must take reasonable steps to securely destroy or permanently de-identify TFN information where it is no longer:
a. required by law to be retained, or
b. necessary for a purpose under taxation law, personal assistance law or superannuation law (including the administration of such law).
Therefore any person who receives a TFN from an employee must ensure they are stored securely and only available to relevant persons and destroyed when not required.
This means if you store them electronically it must be secured access e.g. Passwords as a minimum on your accounting payroll software.
If you use something like dropbox, then secured access to those files is required.
Why not get SJ Bookkeeping to lock up your TFN issues today. Call our team for immediate help.