ATO portal access solution
before superannuation Notice of Intent to Claim is due.
by Julie Matheson CFP®, Finwise™ Leadership
Every year, advisers work through Notice of Intent to Claim (NOI) forms for clients who made personal super contributions before the 1st of July, confirming how much of that contribution should be claimed as a tax deduction and converted to a concessional contribution. Get the amount wrong, miss the deadline, or lodge it after the client's started drawing an income stream from that money, including a transition to retirement pension, and the deduction is gone. There's no fixing it after the fact.
Great advice depends on knowing exactly where a client stands, not what they remember, not what their accountant eventually sends through, but what's actually on record with the ATO. Nowhere is that more true than in superannuation contribution strategies, where three of the most common and valuable things an adviser does for a client all hinge on precise, ATO-held data.
Three examples come up constantly
1. Sequencing the NOI. Miss the window, or let a transition to retirement pension start first, and a legitimate tax deduction disappears with no way to fix it.
2. Bring-forward rule. A client's Total Super Balance at a precise date determines whether they can bring forward $390,000, $260,000, or nothing at all. Get it wrong and it's either excess contributions tax or money left on the table.
3. Carry-forward concessional contributions. The five-year window that's closing. Unused cap space can be reclaimed for up to five years, but 2020-21 drops off for good from 1 July 2026.
None of these strategies can be actioned safely on a client's recollection or an old file note. Each depends on a specific, verifiable number sitting in ATO and super fund records. Advice built on anything less isn't just weaker, it's a genuine complaints risk, the kind of gap that ends up in front of the Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP) or the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
It’s not an overhead, it’s a service
Direct visibility of a client's ATO data directly supports obligations advisers already carry: Best Interests Duty and Code of Ethics Standard 5 (advice appropriate to a client's actual circumstances), Standard 4 (documented, informed consent), and Standard 8 (complete and accurate records) — a live ATO feed beats a reconstructed file note every time.
Why pricing this service matters for compliance
It's tempting to treat ATO data access as a background cost the practice quietly absorbs. That instinct is understandable, but it works against the client, not for them, and it sits awkwardly with obligations advisers already have to meet.
Code of Ethics Standard 7 requires that any benefit an adviser or their practice receives be disclosed with the client's free, prior and informed consent, and that fees charged are reasonable and represent value for money. A service that's bundled invisibly into overhead, rather than itemised with its own fee and its own stated reason for service, can't really be assessed against that test. The client has no way to see what they're paying for or agree to it specifically. That's the same "fee for no service" pattern that's driven a large share of AFCA and FSCP complaints over the past decade: not that a fee was too high, but that it wasn't visible, explained, or clearly tied to something delivered.
Pricing ATO data access properly as a distinct line under Administration, with a stated reason for service and a fee the client has knowingly agreed to does the opposite. It makes the value concrete: the client can see they're paying for verified access to their own ATO records, and why that matters to the advice they're getting. It also protects the adviser: a documented, consented, itemised fee is a far stronger record under Standard 8 than an absorbed cost with no paper trail, and it's easier to defend if a complaint ever asks "what was this fee for?"
Best Interests Duty works the same way. Advice has to be appropriate to the client's actual circumstances and a fee structure that obscures what's being paid for makes it harder, not easier, for a client to make an informed decision about the advice relationship itself. Transparent pricing isn't a commercial add-on to BID compliance; it's part of what BID is asking for.
A joint solution from Finwise and WealthRecords
Finwise has partnered with WealthRecords to make this simple to act on. The Finwise Calculator has been updated to prompt advisers to consider the ATO Data Solution for eligible clients, with a recommended price guide built in. WealthRecords gives you direct, real-time visibility of your client's ATO-held records as a fully licensed Tax Agent and ASIC Agent, without waiting on a third party.
How to register
Prior to registration, you'll need your practice contact details (name, AFSL number, ABN, address, phone and website), your principal's details, a list of any staff who'll need portal access, and your practice logo. If you use adviser-level data feeds, it also helps to have your platform details on hand. Registration takes about five minutes and is a one-off practice-level application, not something each adviser repeats individually.
Cost: $220 per client, per annum, inc GST, redeemable against any tax work completed by WealthRecords for that client in the same financial year.
Register here:
Don't wait for the next missed Notice of Intent to find out what you didn't know. Register now, see everything, and give every client the advice they actually deserve. Registration is quick. Log into the Finwise Calculator, go to Finwise Resources Frequently Asked Questions:
Finwise Calculator clickHERE
Bottom line
Here's the truth: your clients are already trusting you with their financial future. The only question is whether you're seeing the whole picture, or just the parts they remembered to tell you.
Every day you wait is a day a deduction could quietly expire, a cap could go unused, or a strategy could be built on a guess instead of a fact. The advisers who win in this business aren't the ones who work harder, they're the ones that turn overheads into services with a price. Five minutes of registration today is the difference between advice that's good, and advice that's undeniable.
Julie Matheson CFP® is the inventor of the Finwise™ Calculator, the fintech that enables scalability, improves client retention and demonstrates ongoing service, the most tangible asset in practice valuation.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not intended as professional advice. Information is current at the date of publication and may be subject to change without notice.