Who is allowed to lodge¶

Your Activity Statement holds sensitive details about your business and its money, so the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) does not let just anyone lodge it. Only a short list of people are allowed to lodge on behalf of your business — and each of them has to be authorised first.

In plain terms, the people who can lodge are: you, someone in your business you have authorised, or your registered agent.

In one line

Only you, someone in your business you have authorised, or your registered agent can lodge your Activity Statement — and whoever lodges must be authorised.

Why this matters¶

Your tax affairs are private. If anyone could lodge on your behalf, someone could send figures to the ATO in your name without your knowledge. The ATO limits who can lodge to protect you and your business. Knowing who is allowed means you can set things up properly — giving the right person access — and you can be confident that no one outside that circle can lodge for you.

What you will learn¶

Who is allowed to lodge your Activity Statement
Why the ATO limits who can lodge
That whoever lodges must be authorised

Understanding the concept¶

Three kinds of people can lodge your Activity Statement.

You. As the business owner, you can lodge your own statement.
Someone in your business you have authorised. You might want a staff member or bookkeeper to lodge for you. They can — but only once you have authorised them to act for the business. Until you do, they cannot lodge in your name.
Your registered agent. A registered agent is a professional the ATO has registered to act for businesses on tax matters — such as a tax agent or a BAS agent. If you engage one, they can lodge on your behalf.

The thread running through all three is the same: whoever lodges must be authorised. Authorising is simply the step where the ATO knows this person is allowed to act for your business. It is what stops a stranger from lodging in your name, and it is why the ATO ties lodging to people it can trust to act for you.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Access to lodge on a client's behalf is not assumed — it must be established. A registered agent needs the client linked to their practice before they can lodge, and a staff member needs to be granted the appropriate access under the business's own arrangements. The principle is least-privilege: only authorised parties can act, and each lodgment still rests on the client's authority to lodge that statement.

Example¶

Sam runs a small plumbing business and does not want to handle the quarterly statements personally. Sam engages a registered BAS agent, and separately authorises the office bookkeeper to help with lodging.

Once the bookkeeper has been authorised to act for the business, they can lodge Sam's statement. The registered agent can also lodge, because the ATO has them on record as a professional Sam has engaged. But Sam's neighbour, who once offered to "just sort it out", cannot lodge anything — they have no authority to act for Sam's business, and the ATO would not accept a lodgment in Sam's name from them. Sam's tax affairs stay in the hands of people Sam has chosen and authorised.

Common mistakes¶

Assuming a staff member can lodge just because they work for you — they must be authorised to act for the business first.
Thinking anyone who calls themselves a bookkeeper is a registered agent — a registered agent is one the ATO has registered.
Sharing your own login so someone else can lodge as you — the right approach is to authorise that person properly, not to hand over your access.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — myaccountant lets an authorised person lodge your Activity Statement. The person lodging is acting under the authority to lodge for your business, so the statement goes to the ATO from someone who is allowed to send it.

Key points¶

Only you, someone in your business you have authorised, or your registered agent can lodge your Activity Statement.
The ATO limits who can lodge to protect your tax affairs.
Whoever lodges must be authorised to act for your business.
A registered agent is a professional the ATO has registered to act for businesses.
Authorising the right person is safer than sharing your own login.

Learn next¶

General information only — not tax, super or financial advice.

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