ATO CAN STOP TAXPAYERS AT THE AIRPORT - A KEY FOCUS FOR TAX IMPLICATIONS IN 2026

In a recent media release, the ATO has outlined that they will be actively using DPOs as part of their tax enforcement program.

If a DPO is issued to a taxpayer by the ATO, that taxpayer will be prevented from leaving Australia. The use of a DPO is typically where that taxpayer has significant tax debts and may be perceived as a ‘flight risk’, although there could be other reasons which make up the grounds as to why the ATO would issue such an order. There are legal avenues to dispute DPOs or seek respite from the order to leave Australia temporarily under certain conditions.

In the past, DPOs have been rarely used and considered one of the most severe tax debt enforcement tools the ATO has recourse to. But this recent media release is a strong indicator that the DPOs are no longer reserved for the most eye-watering and exotic tax debt matters.

Recently, the ATO has been using the complete gamut of its tax enforcement tools to collect debts – that includes large-scale issuing of director penalty notices, garnishee notices, notices of direction to pay superannuation and, as I have recently spoken about, the use of ‘covert audits’.

This context leads to an expected conclusion that tax advisors will be seeing more DPOs this calendar year. Taxpayers with international business interests or family abroad (especially the elderly or unwell) should engage with the ATO in relation to the current or anticipated tax liabilities before they are hit with the pre-emptive strike.

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