The whistleblower Richard Boyle has told a court of his fears that the actions of the Australian Taxation Office would lead to “suicide and death in the community”.
Taking the stand in a hearing seen as a critical first test of whistleblower laws, Boyle alleged ATO employees were put under pressure to bypass normal negotiations with taxpayers who owed money and move quickly towards more aggressive tactics.
That included issuing garnishee notices that forced banks and other third parties to hand over debtors’ money, he alleged.
Boyle went public with his claims about the ATO in 2018 after attempting to raise them in-house.
He argues his actions were necessary to document the wrongdoing and hopes the public revelations will be protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act. The hearing in South Australia’s district court will determine whether he is immune from prosecution or not.
If not, he will face trial on 24 charges, including of recording private phone calls and taking photographs of taxpayer details.
A clearly emotional Boyle told the court he had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and alleged he had been psychologically abused within the organisation after he first tried to use internal processes to bring other alleged actions to light.
He detailed what he called “maladministration” within the ATO, including debt collection officers shuffling complicated cases to the back of the queue, leaving taxpayers distraught for months.
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