Isabella Peat

7.30 AM

After a short walk to the station, I begin my hour-long train journey into the ATO’s Sydney CBD office. I usually eat breakfast and read a book or listen to music during the morning commute. Once I reach Town Hall station, I walk to the office which takes about 10 minutes.

8.30 AM

I arrive at work and head up to my allocated desk and make my way around to greet my team members in the office. I enter my start time into my timesheet before spending about half an hour reading through emails, adding a reminder for any meetings and updating my to-do list for the day. 

9.00 AM

After my admin tasks are complete, I get started on my assigned work for the day. I’m currently on my second rotation in the Public Groups & International (PG&I) business line. Today’s work includes legal research and assisting in a review for a Top 1000 company taxpayer. This task involves reviewing legislation and using various ATO systems to analyse taxpayer data. I find working on superannuation topics very interesting, and my studies at university have definitely provided me the basic knowledge for my current project.

10.30 AM

After completing a few items on my to-do list for the day it’s time for a quick coffee break to boost up my energy levels! I meet some of my grad friends in the lobby, and we head down to our favourite café for a takeaway coffee. We catch up on the latest news around the office, before heading back to work and getting stuck into reviewing my preparations for an upcoming meeting.

12.30 PM 

After a productive morning, it’s time for a well-deserved lunch break. I buy some lunch from the food court downstairs, on the menu today is some authentic Japanese sushi. I head upstairs to meet my friends in the communal kitchen area to eat lunch while we chat.

1.30 PM

After a delicious lunch, I log back online and join a virtual training session for graduates who are currently in a rotation in PG&I. Today’s training session focuses on taxpayer profiling and navigating the various systems available.  I’m always excited for these training sessions as I find the training the ATO provides very insightful and relevant to the work we do. It also encourages me to take the opportunity to explore and learn something new. Training has helped ease my transition into joining such a large organisation. 

3.00 PM

After training, I meet a few colleagues for a short walk around the block to stretch our legs and enjoy the sunny day. It’s a great opportunity to take a break away from the computer screen, network and mingle. Everyone at the ATO is so friendly and welcoming, it’s such a wonderful privilege to work with such brilliant minds who are keen to share their knowledge with you.

4.30 PM

After a few more hours of work, which involved a video meeting with a Top 100 company taxpayer and completing some international tax law research for my assessment, it’s already home time! I make sure my to-do list is checked off, file all my emails, plan my work for the next day and enter my finish time into my timesheet before packing up. Before heading out, I make a round to say goodbye to my team and head home for the day.

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