ATO Error Codes: Fix Agent Lodgement Errors 2026

When ATO error codes block a lodgement, capture the complete code and message before changing anything. Check the client, obligation, period and transmission status first, then correct the cause and match the accepted result to that same job.

Capture the Error and the Affected Obligation

Save the full response against the practice’s job record before another attempt replaces it. Record the sending software and version, the service used and whether the action was validation, original lodgement or revision.

Start with these reversible checks:

• Compare the selected client and entity with the obligation you intended to lodge.
• Confirm the reporting period and any account or branch selection.
• Check which registered agent number the software sent.
• Open the detailed response, including any message beneath the summary status.
• Check the transmission history for an earlier accepted attempt.

A short number copied from a screen can lose the prefix that identifies the service. Keep the complete code, such as SBR.GEN.AUTH.008, together with its message. Treat a software validation error separately from a response returned by the ATO.

Establish What Happened to the First Attempt

The next action depends on the result, not simply whether the screen shows an error.

Result to establish	What it means for your next step
Rejected	Read the rejection detail, correct the stated cause and follow the service’s resubmission procedure.
Warning	Read the severity and final outcome together. Establish whether the obligation was accepted before deciding on further action.
Pending or transmitting	Establish whether the software is still sending or waiting for the ATO. A second original could duplicate an attempt already in progress.
Accepted	Retain the receipt. If lodged information needs correction, use the applicable amendment or revision procedure.

These are diagnostic categories. Your software’s labels can differ, so use its supported response details to establish which category applies.

Before passing an extract to support, remove client names and personal identifiers. Keep actual TFNs and client documents out of routine support logs. The restricted client file can hold the complete authorised lodgement record.

Match the Code to the Cause

Match the whole code to the service that returned it. The ATO authorisation error list defines the authorisation codes below. The corrective checks identify who can act without changing unrelated client records.

Identity and Entity Details

Code and symptom	Official meaning	Record to check	Actor and corrective action
CMN.ATO.AUTH.001: agent details rejected	Agent number and ABN or credential are unrelated.	Sending agent number and ABN.	Practice administrator: correct their combination. For direct lodgement, check the ABN attached to the credential.
SBR.GEN.AUTH.014: request lacks a client identifier	Client ABN, TFN, WPN or ARN is required.	Relevant client identifier field.	Preparer: supply the identifier the service requires from the verified client record.

Correct the record that supplies the lodgement, then confirm the corrected value appears in the form. A changed display name alone does not establish that the sending details changed.

Client-Agent Relationship and Permission

Code and symptom	Official meaning	Record to check	Actor and corrective action
CMN.ATO.AUTH.011: client cannot be authorised	Client is not associated with the supplied agent number for the task.	Client identifier, agent number and client link.	Agent: correct the identifier or relationship. Check any supplied ABN against the ABR.
CMN.ATO.AUTH.007: action refused	User lacks the correct permission for the action.	Access Manager permissions.	Authorisation administrator: update the required permission, then retry.

A client appearing somewhere in the practice’s records does not prove the required ATO relationship exists. For activity statements, a tax agent needs the client or account-role link. A BAS agent needs the account-role link.

The activity statement guide distinguishes View, Prepare, Lodge and Revise permissions. Successful viewing does not establish permission to lodge. Use the Relationship Authorisation Manager guide when the underlying authorisation setup needs attention.

Hosted Software Notification or Credential

Code and symptom	Official meaning	Record to check	Actor and corrective action
SBR.GEN.AUTH.006: cloud transaction blocked	Software-provider notification is missing.	Access Manager notification.	Authorised business or practice representative: notify the ATO using the provider details and Software ID.
SBR.GEN.AUTH.008: software notification does not match	Notification contains the wrong Software ID.	Provider-issued Software ID and notification.	Authorised representative: correct the notification through Access Manager or the ATO.

The ATO’s cloud software authorisation guidance explains that it checks the notification and Software ID. For registered agents, it also checks the client relationship. Fixing one does not automatically fix the other.

If the returned message concerns the provider’s machine credential, send it to the provider. Staff must not exchange passwords or credential files to work around a failed authorisation.

Form and Business Validation

Activity statement codes have their own meanings in the ATO message repository. Read them alongside the applicable service and form instructions.

Code and symptom	Official meaning	Record to check	Actor and corrective action
CMN.ATO.AS.000006: activity statement document refused	Document identification number is unsupported or invalid.	Selected statement and its document identification number.	Preparer: retrieve the correct obligation through the supported software action. Escalate if it sends an invalid number again.
CMN.ATO.AS.000060: activity statement GST details incomplete	GST accounting method is required.	Form’s GST accounting method.	Preparer: complete the method from the client’s verified records. Ask the client to resolve uncertain facts before lodging.

Do not alter genuine tax figures or switch an accounting method merely to clear a message. If the software does not expose the field identified by the code, ask its support team which record supplies it.

An authorisation rejection identifies a failed check. It does not establish a service outage. For widespread delays, compare the PLS service dashboard with the software provider’s incident information. The PLS dashboard does not cover every dependent service, including RAM.

Make the Correction and Confirm Acceptance

Correct the identified cause, then verify the response for the same obligation. Work through this order so each change has a reason:

1. Establish the original attempt’s outcome. Check its response history and the client’s ATO lodgement record before sending another original.
2. Correct client and entity records where the message identifies a mismatch. Confirm the selected obligation and period remain unchanged.
3. Resolve the specific client relationship or permission. The authorised administrator makes access changes, and the preparer checks the required task again.
4. Correct the software notification when its code identifies that cause. Keep the provider’s Software ID paired with the right notifying entity.
5. Fix form errors and run the supported validation action. Preserve the signed declaration and obtain any further declaration required for changed information.
6. Submit the corrected rejected obligation once. Save its business response and receipt against the job, then check the recorded outcome.

Activity statement validation can be repeated without lodging the statement. An error-free validation result is therefore not proof of lodgement. The submit action must also succeed.

For an accepted original, establish the service’s revision or amendment requirements before correcting lodged information. The activity statement guide permits revisions while stating that original lodgement cannot be repeated. If acceptance remains uncertain, ask the provider or ATO to trace the existing attempt before another submission.

Use Online services for agents to check the client’s official obligation record where available. Match the client, form or obligation, reporting period and document reference with the software receipt. Resolve a disagreement between those records before marking the job lodged.

Record who made the correction, what changed and the accepted reference in the practice’s restricted job record. A screenshot of a cleared error, without the matching acceptance record, leaves the job unresolved.

Escalate With a Safe Evidence Record

Escalate when the responsible person cannot correct the identified record, or when the same code returns after the stated correction. Send the receiving team enough information to trace one attempt.

Who must act	When to involve them	Evidence or action needed
Agent or practice administrator	Client link, agent selection or staff permission is wrong.	Task attempted, complete code, affected record and permission needed. Check client details inside the restricted file.
Client or authorised business representative	A required nomination or client fact needs their action.	Explain the specific nomination or fact to resolve. Use the approved secure channel for sensitive details.
Software provider	Sending details differ from saved records, a field cannot be corrected or transmission remains unresolved.	Software version, service, redacted response, transmission reference and sequence of attempts.
ATO	Official records disagree or an authorisation failure persists after the documented checks.	Exact code, service, reference and time sequence. Supply identity details only through the ATO’s verified support process.

Use an internal job reference in routine correspondence. Include the time and time zone of each attempt, when the change occurred and whether a later attempt exists. Redact screenshots before sending them and inspect the remaining image for identifiers. Never attach credentials, actual TFNs or the client’s source documents to explain an error code.

Your tax software must support the affected channel and form. Its support team can interpret its own transmission history. Keep any product-specific restart or resend instruction confined to that product and confirmed attempt.

Fictional Blocked-Lodgement Case

A practice administrator tries to lodge a company’s quarterly BAS. The ATO returns CMN.ATO.AUTH.011. The administrator saves the rejection reference and confirms that this attempt was rejected.

The company appears in the practice’s job list, but the sending record selects a different registered agent number. The agent checks the client’s account-role relationship and corrects the sending agent selection. The client identifier already matches the restricted client record.

The preparer validates the BAS again and submits it once. In this fictional case, the response accepts the obligation. The preparer matches the company, quarter and document reference against the ATO record, then saves the accepted receipt with the rejected attempt’s history.

Close your own job only when the accepted record matches the intended client, obligation and period. If those details disagree, keep the job open and ask support to trace the reference before resending.