The ATO is using AI to detect unpaid super and it’s right 90% of the time

The Australian Taxation Office is using artificial intelligence (AI) models that can detect superannuation underpayments 90% of the time, according to ATO deputy commissioner Marek Rucinski.

Addressing the the Australian Financial Review Government Services Summit last week, Rucinski outlined the capabilities of the ATO AI models and its Smarter Data unit.

By applying advanced AI techniques to the troves of data collected by the tax office, it is now possible for the tax office preemptively detect which businesses are most likely to underpay staff entitlements, he said.

Since kicking in during the 2018 financial year, the AI models have detected unpaid superannuation with 90% accuracy, and those detections have helped the ATO recover $295 million in unpaid liabilities, Rucinski added.