Tuesday, July 21, 2026

The ATO and your bank are about to get cosy

“I was targeting Australian women,” a liberated Ethiopian man later told British news.

He added, “Mostly the good clients are the older women because they are desperate for love.” 

Scam centres growing ‘exponentially’ despite Myanmar crackdown


Banks push for better access to tax data to combat loan fraud


Major banks warn that a flood of fraudulent loan applications across the sector will get worse unless they can securely access tax data to verify a borrower’s income instead of relying on documents that can be easily faked using artificial intelligence.

The warning came after The Australian Financial Review blew the lid on the scandal in February, revealing that Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank had both begun investigations into their level of exposure.

Those investigations uncovered networks of accountants, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and bankers making fraudulent applications using fake payslips or other documents – some of which were doctored by AI. Some of the activity has been linked to people seeking to evade China’s capital controls.

Officials from the top retail banks told a Senate committee on Monday that they backed federal government funding in the recent budget to assess whether the Australian Taxation Office should share data with banks, under a regime known as the consumer data right, but called for greater urgency.

The home loan fraud problem has ballooned to at least $4 billion across the five biggest lenders, as the nation’s 10 largest banks audit their books for additional criminal activity. Westpac’s chief economist Luci Ellis said such incidents were likely to grow as more fraudsters recognised the power of a new suite of AI tools.

“This is a burgeoning problem,” she told the committee, chaired by Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg. “The issue is [AI] is a new technology; it’s developing quickly. People are learning how to use it. So, this is about heading off a problem that could become much bigger.”

Australian Banking Association chief executive Simon Birmingham said it was concerning that sensitive documents such as payslips, tax returns and bank statements were often submitted to branches by hand or emailed as PDF attachments.

He said banks should be able to access data held by the ATO to more accurately assess income levels stated on an application, thereby strengthening the integrity of lending.

“Fraudulent loan documentation is a growing problem, and artificial intelligence is making fake payslips and doctored statements frighteningly easy to produce,” Birmingham told the committee.

Slow take up

“This process is an anachronism in the digital age, unnecessarily burdensome for customers, and creates unnecessary risk in our financial system. Buying a home or securing a business loan should not begin with a scavenger hunt through your own financial records.”

Westpac’s general manager for retail banking Damien Macrae said the CDR – the consumer data right, a regulated data sharing regime that went live in the banking sector in July 2020 and was recently switched on for non-bank lenders – had been built at significant cost to banks. Take-up had been slow, but this was the use case the regime was built for, he added.

“Six years on, it remains a productivity oddity: the government-mandated secure data sharing system, yet government data isn’t shared within it,” Macrae said. “We don’t have a decisioning issue at the moment; we have a verification issue. So this would reduce time to verify.”

To allow a bank customer to authorise a lender to review their tax file to assess income, the government would need to amend the Taxation Administration Act, which currently prohibits the disclosure of tax information to a bank.

National Australia Bank executive of home lending platforms Matt Dawson said this would let banks “rely on a single source of trusted data, rather than asking customers to submit multiple documents, such as income payslips for loan applications”.

“You think this would help with the huge problem of mortgage fraud?” asked Bragg.

“Yes,” Dawson replied. “As I said, it would help with documentation verification, and it ultimately would prevent fraud.”

The Australian Taxation Office, appearing later in the day, said it was working with Treasury and the banks on the issue and saw the benefit of providing data in appropriate cases, but was currently constrained by secrecy provisions even if it received consent.

Adequate controls needed

The ATO was “in an exploratory phase to determine how we can do this,” said Paul Beohm, assistant commissioner of law and policy design at the ATO.

“It is probably too early in the process to definitively say, one way or the other, whether it is valuable or not. But internationally we have seen it work, so I would be pretty confident we will see some value.”

Officials from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority told the committee it was also working with banks and other regulators to understand the extent of the problem and how it could be prevented. It wanted to ensure that banks had adequate controls to ensure they were not the subject of fraud.

“One of the risk vectors or vulnerabilities that have been exposed by trusted professionals like accountants is the issue of banks not being able to go to the source of truth, which is income verification,” Kylie Rixon, Commonwealth Bank executive general manager of financial crime compliance, told the committee.

Banks wrote to Treasurer Jim Chalmers in April, ahead of the budget, arguing the CDR regime, known as “open banking” in the sector, would be more effective if ATO data were made available. Co-ordination between the corporate regulator, AUSTRAC and the ATO could also be improved.

The May budget allocated $62 million over two years to investigate the expansion.

The ACCC – which warned banks to improve loan diligence by better use of the CDR in April, regardless of whether ATO data was made available – said 1.3 million Australians were using the CDR, including for mortgage applications and personal financial management.

Fintech Australia chief executive Rehan D’Almeida said on Monday that broader CDR access would support competition by increasing the speed of decision-making using documents that could not be manipulated.

Birmingham said that it would allow banks to direct resources to lift scrutiny of loans made without ATO authorisation, to ensure they “are triaged and effectively tested”. 

Any changes would only be effective if they were embraced by mortgage brokers, Bragg said. More than three-quarters of home lending goes through broker networks, and third-party referrals have been identified as the source of many of the banks’ problems.

 writes on banking, finance, payments, regulation and emerging technologies. Based in Sydney, he is a former legal and investment banking editor at the AFR and has been a business journalist for more than 20 years. Email James at jeyers@afr.com.au


The ATO and your bank are about to get cosy

The ultimate odd couple: the tax office and your bank, quietly comparing notes on your finances. But with AI making it easier than ever to fake a payslip, that unlikely partnership might be exactly what stops the next wave of loan fraud.

The ultimate odd couple: the tax office and your bank, quietly comparing notes on your finances. But with AI making it easier than ever to fake a payslip, that unlikely partnership might be exactly what stops the next wave of loan fraud.

History gives us many examples of unholy alliances, like the countries that thought getting together to declare war on the world in the 1939–45 era is a case in point. But when it comes to less geopolitical pairing up, many Australians would have to have reservations about the Australian Tax Office and our banks considering bedding down together.

Unfortunately, this really worrying proposition could be for a good cause, as the incidents of fraudulent loan applications grow higher by the day thanks to the work of AI agents such as Anthropic’s Claude and his rivals like Microsoft’s Copilot and Salesforce’s Einstein!

The AFR’s James Eyres reports that the incidence of dodgy borrowers rearranging reality to get a loan “will get worse unless they can securely access tax data to verify a borrower’s income instead of relying on documents that can be easily faked using artificial intelligence.”

That newspaper told us in February that both the CBA and NAB had been investigating the rise of false documentation aided and abetted by the professionalism that these AI agents can bring to the loan application table.

Eyres says there is a network of accountants, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and even bankers who are teaming up using AI, and apart from conspiring to secure loans, there is also an intention, in some cases, “to evade China’s capital controls” over their population!

Bankers told a Senate committee on Monday that the Budget’s allocation of funds to assess the good sense of the ATO sharing tax data with banks was a good idea.

The bankers made the following arguments to make the alliance between them and the ATO:

  1. AI is helping loan applicants cheat the loan application system.
  2. Many key documents, such as payslips, tax returns and bank statements are presented by hand or as PDFs via email, which are easily doctored.
  3. Banks should be able to check ATO data to verify that the documents are legit.

Former Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham, who is now the CEO of the Australian Banking Association, said the following to the committee: “Fraudulent loan documentation is a growing problem, and artificial intelligence is making fake payslips and doctored statements frighteningly easy to produce.”

The banks think an easy fix to the problem exists using the Consumer Data Right (CDR) service, which as its website explains, helps manage your personal or business finances and is secure and easy. “If you choose to use Consumer Data Right, the automated, secure data transfer is done between the providers. The system is strictly regulated by the Australian Government.”

The banks call this “open banking” but it’s not as open as they would like.

But the problem and the solution are an easy fix and were explained by Westpac’s general manager for retail banking Damien Macrae.

“Six years on, it (CDR) remains a productivity oddity: the government-mandated secure data sharing system, yet government data isn’t shared within it,” Macrae said. “We don’t have a decisioning issue at the moment; we have a verification issue. So, this would reduce time to verify.”

The ATO told the committee that it was looking at the matter with Treasury but no decision either way has been made. Given the AFR reported recently that loan fraud with our top five banks had blown out to $4 billion, this potentially undermines the financial reliability of our banks, which all bank shareholders should really care about.

And given our banks’ pivotal role in funding our economy’s businesses and consumer activities, accessing ATO data to verify someone’s creditworthiness sounds both worrying but necessary.

I’d like to tell banks to “buzz off” when it comes to our tax data, but in the age of AI and the crooks it will enable, we need a watchful ‘big brother’ or minder, who as the old Dennis Waterman song once promised: “I could be so good for you!”



Dementia Values and Priorities Tool

 

The People’s House Is Getting A Permanent Fence

Permanent fencing on the block of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House and around Lafayette Square. The Secret Service and the White House would control gates they can open and close whenever they decide there’s a “security risk.” Pedestrian access in front of the People’s House — the view of the North Portico that every tourist, every school trip, every protester has had for generations — shut off at the flip of a switch. Oh, and they’re also hardening the North Portico front doors. 

The ones that face the public. That project wraps in September. The official line? Security and cost savings. They’re tired of putting up and taking down temporary barriers for special events. That’s right — the administration that’s building a ballroom the size of a Costco is suddenly pinching pennies on fence rentals. 

And the cherry on top: this pairs beautifully with Trump’s other Lafayette Square plan — planting 47 trees in the park. Forty-seven. For the 47th president. A former federal planning official told the Post that between the fence and the trees, residents and tourists wouldn’t be able to see the White House from any reasonable distance. 

He’s not securing the building. He’s disappearing it. Turning 1600 Pennsylvania into Mar-a-Lago North: a private club you hear about but never see, where the members decide who gets in…”

Lafayette Park Security Modifications. U.S Commission of Fine Arts. Concept Submittal. July 16, 2026



Dementia Values and Priorities Tool

Compassion & Choices: “The Dementia Values and Priorities Tool is designed to help you communicate your wishes regarding future care if you are living with dementia. 

After answering a series of questions related to the changes commonly seen in the progression of dementia, the tool will provide you with a document that can be added to your existing advance directive and shared with others. The interactive online tool is available in English and Spanish, and a printable version are available in multiple languages. 

Tip: Look out for key terms in blue text as you go through the tool. Clicking on those terms opens a brief video that explains the concept in more detail.”


Wiki Spy

A visual search engine, with Wiki Spy you search metadata associated with things, people, objects, colors, food…a long list of things. Combine your requirements in a search, obtain a result that may be further narrowed or expanded along with examples of the items along with associated or related things…..click on any and you can read about each item on Wikipedia. It is a visual search that offers a very wide angle view of things and their relationship using no text. Interesting and a worthwhile diversion.

Judge Nullifies Trump $1.776B Settlement With IRS And Treasury

 "Success is more permanent when you achieve it without destroying your principles."



KPMG has hit a group of staff and partners with fines as high as $180,000 for misusing confidential information from Optus in the firm’s failed bid to win Telstra’s external audit contract.

Seven individuals received sanctions, ranging from first-and-final warnings and restrictions on career progression to reduced performance ratings, salary banding and several fines exceeding $100,000.

KPMG partners fined up to $180,000 over Telstra, Optus misconduct



Whistleblower Letter alleging Kennedy Center Mismanagement

Jim Acosta – Whistleblower Document Dump Accuses Trump Administration of Damaging Kennedy Center with No-Bid Contracts and Shoddy Work. “Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the documents which state facility may now require “extensive remediation.” It is more than just a tacky tarp that is plaguing the Kennedy Center. According to a large trove of government documents and emails, provided to members of Congress by a group of whistleblowers, the Trump administration rushed shoddy renovation work at the Center through no-bid contracts that could leave the facility in need of “extensive remediation” for years to come. The newly released documents, released by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, accuse the administration of “gross mismanagement and gross waste of public funds” in awarding projects to “preferred contractors.” 

A letter addressed to lawmakers from the Government Accountability Project on behalf of the whistleblowers said the president’s handpicked Center management made several of these renovation decisions in “unusually close consultation” with Trump himself. “Renovations were rushed to meet the deadlines driven by the President’s desire to host official events at the Center. Federal contracting laws and regulations were ignored. 

Preferred contractors were awarded no-bid contracts without proper justification. Management repeatedly told staff to ‘do whatever it takes,’ insisting that ‘we’ll deal with the lawsuits later,’ the letter stated. “The rushed timeline and deviations from contracting practices led to superficial cosmetic alterations that apparently failed to address underlying structural deficiencies and will likely require extensive remediation,” the letter added…”




Judge Nullifies Trump $1.776B Settlement With IRS And Treasury

 “Court finds that this matter was brought for an improper purpose—to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.”… At the heart of Judge Williams’ decision is a constitutional finding that there was never an actual “case or controversy” as required under Article III of the Constitution. 

The judge found that because President Trump, as head of the Executive Branch, ultimately controlled the agencies he sued—the Treasury Department and the IRS—the parties were never genuinely adverse. The ruling effectively dismantles what critics had described as a sweetheart deal between the Trump administration and the IRS…”


Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, lawsuit claims

Reuters: “Twenty-six employees of Meta ‌Platforms have filed a novel lawsuit accusing the tech giant of using AI-powered software that disproportionately targeted people with disabilities or who took medical leave in selecting workers for mass layoffs. The lawsuit, filed in Oakland, California, federal court late Monday, says that the company ​relied on factors such as productivity and AI token usage when it slashed thousands of jobs earlier this ​year, disadvantaging people who missed work because of medical conditions or to care for family ⁠members. 

The plaintiffs, who were notified in May that their jobs would be eliminated starting on July 22, ​are seeking a preliminary ruling from the court blocking Meta from completing the layoffs while they pursue their ​claims in private arbitration. 

The workers say Meta’s agreements require employees to arbitrate workplace disputes individually, but do not apply to requests for temporary relief. A Meta spokesperson on Tuesday said the claims lack merit…The lawsuit appears to be the first against a major U.S. company ​to challenge the alleged use of AI in conducting layoffs.”

​The 26 plaintiffs, who ⁠filed the lawsuit anonymously, are accusing Meta of violating federal and state laws that ban discrimination or retaliation against workers who have disabilities, take medical leave or are ​pregnant. They also claim that Meta failed to test its AI systems for ​bias in ⁠violation of recently adopted California and New York City laws…”

Special Milestone 95 - Going Down A Memory Lane

Today my former boss reached a mile stone 95th birthday 🎂 


There are not many characters who speak and write fluently, German, Russian, French and Farsi …


National Treasure, Dr Cope  was the longest serving NSW parliamentary librarian ( the Godfather of the NSW legislature Johno Johnson named Dr cope - National  Treasure 


Dr Cope calling a spade a shovel: Myths and Realities of Administering Australian Parliaments



No one is better qualified to write about parliamentary libraries than Dr Cope. For over 30 years he was the Parliamentary Librarian of the New South Wales Parliament, and generations of parliamentary officers and students of Parliament have found his writings of great interest.

Quote from Harry Evans 



12 years ago: NSW Parliamentary Library Staff Reunion



A unique reunion luncheon for staff who had worked with Russell Cope (Parliamentary Librarian, 1962-1991) brought together a cross-section of staff from those years. A working party of present and former staff organised the contact of the dispersed staff and the reunion arrangements. The venue, Bill and Toni's East Sydney restaurant, was festively decorated for the 35-40 people who attended the reunion in late November.


 Former staff gathering together at Bohemian place to mark Dr Cope 20th year of retirement in 2011 ... John gets the best shot ;-) 

 


John Botherway and Andrew Cope flew up from Melbourne, Necia Agnew came from Canberra, Marlene Knowles and Lyn Miller came from the Central Coast, several came from the Blue Mountains.

The reunion stretched from noon to 6 pm, allowing plenty of scope for reminiscences to be exchanged and photos inspected. A number of working highlights and personalities of the past were recalled with hilarity. Only the news of the death of former Deputy Parliamentary Librarian, Richard Baker, brought a note of sadness.

Recalling happy times and events, participants mentioned the celebrations throughout 1990 to mark the Parliamentary Library's sesquicentenary. As Australia's oldest parliamentary library, it received wide notice at the time and even held the first Open Day in the Parliamentary Library's history. The 1990 celebrations mark a highlight in the library's annals. A second, earlier highpoint, but no less significant, was the move in 1980 to the spacious, elegant new library in the award-winning parliamentary building facing the Sydney Domain.

The reunion did not let sad developments dampen its spirits. The general consensus was one of gratitude for the good, stimulating times we enjoyed. An added pleasure was seeing old colleagues doing well in family and professional life. The camaraderie from those days was still much alive at the reunion.

Russell Cope rcope@ozemail.com.au







My former boss, Dr Russell Cope, who is known for his insight and concerns about libraries, received a very special gift from the head of the NSW State Library this morning - Two Library Champions Received the Bespoke Engraved Glass:
Recognising distinguished individuals who contribute to the cultural enrichment of Australia through excellence in the library, information and related fields.  

#LibraryHonours Honorary Fellows are Ms Kathleen Bresnahan and Dr Russell Leslie David Cope 

William Shatner, 95, performing at Riot Fest with his heavy metal band Star Trek actor's rider for Chicago music festival includes many outlandish demands