The 2025 findings report shines a light on the key tax issues for the Top 500 privately owned and wealthy groups' tax performance program.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released its 2025 findings report on 27 November 2025, providing insights and best practices for the top 500 privately owned and wealthy groups.
The 2025 findings report shines a light on the key tax issues for the Top 500 privately owned and wealthy groups’ tax performance program.
This year’s report draws on extensive engagement with Top 500 groups and their advisers. It’s designed to help these groups strengthen compliance and governance by providing practical insights, including:
- ATO’s assurance approach and model of engagement
- key program results and recommendations
- requirements to achieve justified trust
- the importance of tax governance to ensure groups get the basics right
- the tax issues that affect Top 500 groups.
Assistant Commissioner Glenn Cooper discussed the 2025 report:
“Our Top 500 findings report demonstrates the Tax Avoidance Taskforce’s commitment to ensuring Australia’s wealthiest private groups are paying the right amount of tax through our robust assurance processes and our justified trust approach. The report provides a comprehensive overview of our assurance and compliance results, and highlights practical steps Top 500 groups can take to show they are meeting their tax obligations, such as strengthening governance, improving transparency, and addressing known risks early. The report also covers our key focus areas and priorities for 2026 that Top 500 groups need to be aware of and address.”
Top 500 program
The Top 500 tax performance program (Top 500 program) provides assurance to both government and the community that Australia’s wealthiest privately owned groups are paying the right amount of tax and will continue to do so into the future.
The program’s engagement model encourages Top 500 groups to proactively demonstrate their commitment to meeting tax and superannuation obligations. These groups are supported through tailored, one-on-one engagements that take a holistic approach to assurance, aligned with the 4 pillars of justified trust. The Top 500 program works with the Commercial deals program to ensure that all significant transactions undertaken by Top 500 groups are subject to comprehensive review and oversight.
Over the longer term, ATO’s ongoing engagement with large private groups that seek to comply is designed to:
- prevent disputes through early engagement on significant transactions
- build mutual trust
- foster willing participation in the tax and superannuation systems.
