The ATO is one of the most powerful and secretive institutions in the country, but for years, it’s operated without effective scrutiny.
In this major Four Corners investigation, award-winning financial journalists Neil Chenoweth and Angus Grigg reveal how inaction and flawed systems have allowed more than $50 billion in tax to go uncollected.
They unpick how a simple scam, supercharged on social media, saw tens of thousands of Australians fraudulently claim at least $2 billion in GST refunds.
They also show how corporate operators extracted millions more through fake invoices and phantom construction projects, often without triggering even basic checks.
And they expose how deep cuts, digital automation and a lack of independent oversight has left one of Australia’s most powerful institutions wide open to exploitation.
Born of years of forensic reporting by two of Australia’s most respected financial journalists in collaboration with the ABC’s investigations team, No Return exposes systemic failures inside one of the nation’s most opaque institutions.
It demonstrates why every taxpayer should demand accountability from the very agency entrusted to uphold it.
CHAPTERS
00:12 – The Australian Taxation Office
02:40 – A simple scam
03:40 – Tik Tok trend
05:10 – GST scam
11:38 – Over $800,000 dollars in fraudulent refunds
14:20 – Operation Protego
14:50 – Missing 2 billion
15:40 – ATO on notice
18:24 – Corporate scams
24:00 – Collectable debt
26:40 – 21 million dollars in GST refunds
27:35 – The Settlements
41:28 – Reforming the ATO
Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.
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