Resource pressures are intensifying for corporate tax teams, including those based in Australia, as compliance demands, regulatory complexity, and talent constraints continue to increase. At the same time, opportunities in technology adoption, jurisdiction‑specific incentives, and international tax reform are creating new pathways for tax leaders to deliver measurable business value – particularly for Australian organisations with international or U.S. operations.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Take your case for investment in technology and talent to the board – As compliance demands increase, Australian tax leaders should leverage benchmark data and peer insights to support investment in automation, analytics and generative AI – particularly where new governance mandates demand higher data quality and documentation.
- Explore targeted value opportunities across jurisdictions – For Australian organisations with international footprints, emerging mechanisms such as transferable tax credits, incentives and reliefs can support cash‑flow management and tax rate optimisation where relevant.
- Plan early for material tax law changes effective from 2026 – Significant changes are coming into effect across multiple jurisdictions, including the US and Australia, requiring early modelling, governance and systems readiness – especially for groups managing cross‑border obligations.
A demanding landscape for tax teams
The global corporate tax landscape throughout 2025 was defined by resource constraints, regulatory complexity and rapid technological change. Australian tax leaders report similar pressures to their global peers, balancing increasing compliance requirements, talent shortages and evolving legislation – while still being expected to provide strategic insight to the broader business.
Findings from the 2026 State of the Corporate Tax Departments Report highlight ongoing under-resourcing across corporate tax functions. More than half of respondents globally reported insufficient resourcing, with knock-on effects including higher audit exposure and increased penalty risk. These challenges are equally relevant to Australian-headquartered groups managing multi-jurisdictional tax obligations.
In Australia, these pressures are being amplified by expanded ATO compliance programs and increased expectations around tax governance, documentation and data integrity and the department’s use of AI in law enforcement, intelligence and security.
While the report found that many organisations are planning to recruit rather than rely on overtime, competition for experienced tax professionals remains strong, and the pipeline for new professionals remains weak. As a result, advocating for sustained investment in both people and technology has become essential for managing risk and sustaining compliance across borders.
Technology gaps and competing priorities
The report also highlights a persistent imbalance between strategic and tactical work. Many in-house tax professionals say their teams spend the majority of their time reacting to compliance tasks, with limited capacity for forward planning or value-added activities.
For many Australian tax functions, emerging requirements such as global minimum tax reporting and tighter domestic compliance timeframes are further stretching already limited capabilities.
Workload volumes, complex compliance rules, limited headcount, and legacy systems continue to hold teams back. While a significant proportion of tax functions remain in a reactive stage of technology maturity, encouragingly, many expect above-average budget increases to support tax technology initiatives – including early adoption of generative AI to streamline routine tasks and improve insight generation.
Where value opportunities are emerging
International opportunities
Recent US federal tax reform has altered the economics of investment and financing for groups with US exposure, including changes to depreciation, R&D treatment and interest deductibility. For Australian organisations operating in, or investing into, the United States, these measures can materially affect cash tax outcomes and forecasting but also introduce additional compliance complexity across federal and state regimes.
In parallel, transferable tax credit markets in the United States continue to mature, offering eligible Australian multinationals an additional lever to manage cash flow and effective tax outcomes where exposure exists.
Australian regulatory and planning pressures
At the same time, Australian corporate tax teams are navigating a sharpening local compliance environment. The implementation of OECD global minimum tax rules, expanded ATO compliance programs, and operational reforms such as ‘Payday Super’ from July 2026 are increasing data, governance and reporting expectations. While not always headline‑grabbing, these changes materially affect resourcing, systems design and audit readiness for Australian groups.
Planning for 2026 and beyond
In 2026, tax leaders face a convergence of pressures, from major international tax reform and evolving incentive regimes to intensified domestic compliance expectations. For Australian organisations, success will depend less on reacting to individual rule changes and more on building flexible capability across people, processes and platforms.
