With many communities and businesses having been heavily impacted by drought, bushfires and now the Covid-19 pandemic, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is highlighting the importance and value of local councils using Australian Business Register (ABR) data in their responses.
ABR data can help in:
- identifying restricted and/or essential businesses that require support in your community;
- validating businesses that may be eligible for grants and assistance from government stimulus packages; and
- locating vulnerable businesses like aged care facilities or child care centres.
The Northern Beaches Council, for example, has been able to identify and map essential service businesses in its LGA by using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) codes and the geospatial coordinates included in ABR data.
The Whitehorse City Council identified and contacted businesses in its local area to communicate vital information regarding Covid-19 and for future support services that might be required.
ATO teams are available to help government agencies and councils to obtain access to ABR data and to ABR Explorer – which is a reporting, analytical and query tool developed for eligible government agencies to explore and visualise data. For more information on how to access ABR data, email abrenquiries@ato.gov.au
For more information on ABR Explorer click here.