Australian business leaders say the mandatory Director ID sign-up process is deeply flawed, with technical bugs, difficulties accessing the myGov ID system, and overwhelmed customer service lines delaying applications.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) originally set an application cut-off of Wednesday, November 30.
Hefty fines apply for those who go without: the ATO says criminal fines of up to $13,200, and civil penalties of up to $1.1 million, could apply to directors who operate without a valid ID.
However, with some 700,000 company directors yet to sign up for their Director ID by the deadline, the ATO and ABRS on Wednesday promised not to penalise directors who apply by December 14.
Those company directors are now flooding the ATO and ABRS with applications, but business leaders say their attempts have been hampered by significant technical challenges.
Business owners and directors have vented their frustrations on the official ATO customer forum, saying they were directed to call the helpline — but the line automatically hung up, with an automated message saying the line was too busy to take new calls.
On the ATO Facebook page, others have complained their application is being held up by the myGovID separate system.
Directors must set up a myGovID before applying for a Director ID. But some users say filing their personal details with the myGovID system had failed, stalling their application altogether.
Others said the myGovID system presented an error code, with a note to call the relevant support line. “I have tried calling the support line and calling the ATO, but it seems everyone is too busy to answer,” one user wrote on Wednesday.
An ATO representative suggested the user delete and re-download the myGovID app and set it up using documents already linked to their myGovID.
“If the issue persists, you’ll need to phone our contact centre again at a later time,” they added.
Another user said the application process should have been built into myGov itself.
Working between myGov and the Director ID portal is “actually the most infuriating waste of time”.
“I see red,” they added. “Bring on the fine.”
Other users have faced an even earlier hurdle: without a smartphone, they say access to the myGov system is even more difficult.
An ATO representative suggested they call the ABRS for further assistance.
Despite concerns over the availability of customer service staff, an ATO representative suggested the call backlog was easing.
“Now that everyone has had been given some extra time, you should be able to get through on the phone, we shouldn’t be so overloaded,” an ATO representative wrote on the forum Thursday.
The ATO declined to directly comment to SmartCompany on Friday morning.
Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
