ATO's Tax Debt Collector Pays No Corporate Tax Despite Millions in Contracts

A private debt collector has paid zero corporate tax since securing contracts worth tens of millions of dollars from the Australian Taxation Office to pursue arrears payments, including from welfare recipients. The parent entity of the outsource operator, Recoveriescorp, has recorded large income streams in its two most recent annual accounts, according to Guardian Australia analysis, with revenue surpassing $100m during 2025. At the same time, business expenses inflated by high consulting fees and elevated interest repayments to unnamed financiers has resulted in a series of annual losses, with no corporate tax payable. Mark Zirnsak, secretariat at the Tax Justice Network Australia, said the accounts of the parent company, Symbos Bidco, raised questions. Sign up: AU Breaking News email “Why is it a loss-making entity? It’s almost like it’s a not-for-profit, and what private business runs as a not-for-profit?,” Zirnsak said. “As for its loan facilities, it’s a private company and there’s no obligation for them to explain why they have them, so we are left in the dark.” There is no suggestion the company or its directors have acted illegally. The ATO referred more than 355,000 taxpayers to Recoveriescorp between January 2024 and October 2025. It has awarded the firm $42.8m worth of contracts since 2022, according to the government tender portal. A spokesperson for Recoveriescorp said the business and its parent were “fully compliant with their tax and regulatory obligations”. “The business is in a growth phase so has been reinvesting in systems, frontline people and processes to continually improve the quality and expand the services offered,” the spokesperson said. The private equity-backed Recoveriescorp is the second company with major government contracts identified by Guardian Australia as running at a financial loss, with no tax payable. It comes after Guardian Australia revealed an unrelated outsource call centre operator for Centrelink, Telco Services Australia, also paid no corporate tax for several years after winning a large government agency contract. Procurement rules Tax Justice Network Australia, which advocates for reform on behalf of dozens of aid agencies, unions and governance groups, has said the tax compliance threshold to apply for government contracts in Australia was low and should be strengthened. Recoveriescorp is one of the largest subsidiaries of Symbos Bidco, and a main driver of its revenue. All profits, losses and tax liabilities from its operations flow to the controlling entity. The debt collector is ultimately controlled by the private equity firm Allegro, which bought the company in 2024. Recoveriescorp staff have worked inside the ATO offices for several years, with its operations recently expanding to include offsite services, whereby the private collector chases debts under its own name on the agency’s behalf. Symbos Bidco has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for advisory services to the same firm that audits its accounts; a lawful practice but one that a recent parliamentary committee recommended against. It has also paid an interest repayment rate in excess of 7% on a near $58m loan facility, although it is unclear why it needs access to such a large sum. It also has access to an $86m loan from a related party. The Recoveriescorp spokesperson did not respond to questions about why it required the loans or why it doesn’t use different firms for audit and advisory services. An ATO spokesperson said the agency was unable to comment on the tax affairs of Recoveriescorp or its parent company due to confidentiality laws. “The ATO undertakes procurement processes in accordance with the commonwealth procurement rules,” the spokesperson said. The ATO has been particularly reliant on outsource operators, and has awarded contracts to three private call centre operators, the US private equity-owned Probe Operations, the Nasdaq-listed Concentrix Services and the British multinational Serco, in addition to its contract with Recoveriescorp. Staff at outsource call centres for agencies including the ATO and Centrelink have said training is poor, morale is low and the attrition rate is high. The tax ombudsman has reported a spike in complaints over the ATO’s use of a third-party collector to chase tax debts and warned the agency to be considerate of a person’s circumstances.