Australia’s public country-by-country reporting: what Swiss groups should know

Australia’s new public country-by-country (CbC) reporting regime is now in force and is particularly relevant for Swiss groups. Switzerland is one of 40 specified jurisdictions for which information must be disclosed separately, rather than being included in an aggregated “rest of world” category, which is a significant difference to the EU Public CbCR directive. For Swiss groups with an Australian footprint, this creates a new level of public tax transparency and places Swiss operations under closer external scrutiny from investors, media and other external stakeholders.

In this blog, we outline the key features of the regime, why Switzerland’s inclusion on the specified jurisdictions list matters, and the practical steps Swiss groups should be considering.

Overview of the Australian public CbC reporting

Large multinational groups with an Australian presence are required to disclose selected tax and financial information, for Australia and specified jurisdictions on a country-by-country basis. Unlike the confidential OECD CbC report exchanged between tax authorities, the Australian public CbC report is lodged with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and then made publicly available through the ATO website.

The rules apply to reporting periods starting on or after 1 July 2024, with reports due within 12 months of the end of the reporting period. For groups with a 31 December year end, the first reporting period will be the year ending 31 December 2025, with the report due by 31 December 2026.

Relevance for Swiss-headquartered groups

Under the Australian rules, information for most foreign jurisdictions can be reported in aggregate. However, Australia has published a list of 40 specified jurisdictions for which data must be disclosed separately, on the same standalone basis as Australia itself. Switzerland and Singapore are included on that list despite being the only two of the 40 specified jurisdictions with a comprehensive international tax treaty with Australia.

Based on current guidance, there is no indication that the list of specified jurisdictions will change in the near future. Swiss groups should therefore plan on the basis that Switzerland remains subject to standalone disclosure under the Australian rules. This is significant for groups used to Switzerland’s more traditional confidentiality norms around tax and financial matters, as it represents a meaningful shift towards public scrutiny.

Scope of application

The obligation to file the public CbC report falls on the ultimate parent entity of the group, referred to as the public CbC reporting parent, regardless of whether it is resident in Australia or in a foreign jurisdiction, where the group meets the following criteria:

• Annual global income of the group is AUD 1 billion or more (approximately CHF 560 million), and
• The group has an Australian presence, with Australian-sourced aggregated turnover of AUD 10 million (approximately CHF 5.6 million) or more.

Australia’s AUD 1 billion threshold is lower than the CHF 900 million threshold for the CbCR law in Switzerland and the EUR 750 million threshold used in a number of comparable regimes, including the EU public CbCR directive. As a result, some Swiss groups that are outside the EU regime, or below their Swiss reporting threshold, may still be in scope for public CbCR in Australia if they have qualifying local operations.

In scope Swiss public CbC reporting parents should register with the ATO to obtain the ATO reference number (ARN), for the purpose of engaging with the ATO on lodgements, extensions, or exemptions.

Required disclosures

The CbC reporting parent is required to provide certain general information, including:

• Its legal name and tax jurisdiction
• The reporting period year, end date and start date
• The name of each entity in the CbC reporting group
• A description of the CbC reporting group’s approach to tax

In addition, for Australia and each specified jurisdiction, including Switzerland, as well as other jurisdictions, the report must include the following information:

The reported information must be prepared consistently with the approved form instructions and reconciled with the reporting entity’s audited consolidated financial statements for the relevant period, where applicable.

Most information should be readily available for MNEs from their confidential OECD CbCR, “revenue from related parties that are not tax residents of the jurisdiction” may however lead to additional data gathering efforts. It implies e.g., that related party revenue for Switzerland must be eliminated for transactions between Swiss entities. Groups must also publish a description of their overall approach to tax, drawing on the voluntary GRI 207 framework.

Exemptions from reporting obligations

A public CbC reporting parent can apply for a full or partial exemption from its reporting obligations for a single reporting period, though any such exemption remains subject to the Commissioner's discretion. However, exemptions are expected to be exceptional and may be granted under national security concerns, a breach of Australian or foreign law, or substantial commercial harm from the disclosure of genuinely sensitive information.

For Swiss groups, any exemption analysis is likely to be most relevant where specific Swiss or aggregated data points raise demonstrable commercial sensitivity concerns; however, private ownership or a general preference for confidentiality is unlikely, on its own, to support an exemption.

Recommended actions for Swiss groups

1. Confirm scope. Assess global income against the AUD 1 billion threshold and Australian-sourced aggregated turnover against the AUD 10 million threshold.
2. Prepare for standalone Swiss disclosure. Switzerland cannot be aggregated, so all required data points should be prepared at Swiss jurisdiction level.
3. Check data availability. Revenue from related parties that are not tax residents of the jurisdiction may not be readily available and need some additional accounting considerations.
4. Draft the group’s approach to tax statement. Align the statement with the GRI 207 framework and ensure it is consistent with the group’s broader tax governance narrative.
5. Run a sensitivity analysis. As Swiss data will be shown separately, consider what the published figures may indicate about margins, effective tax rates and intercompany arrangements in Switzerland. Prepare a clear supporting narrative that can stand up to public and media scrutiny.
6. Coordinate across regimes. Where the group also reports under the EU public CbCR directive or other transparency frameworks, reconcile definitions and figures in advance to reduce the risk of publishing inconsistent information across jurisdictions.
7. Register early with the ATO. Early registration can help smooth the lodgement process, support engagement with the ATO and allow sufficient time for any pre-lodgement steps, particularly where an exemption or deferral may be sought.
8. Establish a review and correction process. Because the report will be public, groups should document ownership, review steps and procedures for correcting any identified errors.

Key takeaway

Australia’s public CbC regime is one of the more far-reaching tax transparency measures introduced to date. Its treatment of Switzerland as a specified jurisdiction means that Swiss groups with Australian operations may face a level of public disclosure that goes beyond what they experience under other regimes.

Swiss groups with Australian operations should now assess whether they are in scope, identify the data that will be publicly disclosed, and evaluate whether an application for exemption or deferral may be appropriate. This should be approached not only as a compliance exercise, but also as a governance and reputational matter well before the first filing deadline.

Authors

• Ilan Rom - Partner, Tax & Legal 
• Kayla Imholz - Director, Tax & Legal 
• Lucie Winklerova - Senior Manager, Tax & Legal 
• Atila Demiraj - Manager, Tax & Legal