Guide
TFN and ABN scams: why you should never pay for either
You're on your phone filling out a form to get your tax file number. There's a payment page. $79.99, card details required before you can submit. You pause for a second, but it's your first week in the country and the site looks official enough. You pay.
You didn't need to. A TFN is free, every time, no exceptions. So is an ABN.
How the scam works
Scammers register a domain that sounds official (something like "tfn-australia.com" or "abn-apply.net") and build a page close enough to the real government form to pass a rushed glance. They run ads on Google and social media targeting searches like "apply TFN Australia" or "get ABN fast," so the fake page can show up above the real one when you're searching in a hurry. You fill in your name, date of birth, passport number, sometimes a scan of your passport, then hit a payment screen before you're allowed to submit.
This isn't a rare horror story. The ATO's own scam alerts confirm scammers impersonate the ATO through email, SMS, phone calls, social media, and fake websites, and it has specifically flagged a rise in fake TFN application sites that promise to sort out your TFN for a fee, then steal both the payment and the personal information instead of delivering anything. Some of these sites do submit your application after taking your money. Some just take the money and your ID and vanish.
Red flags before you enter anything
The URL isn't a .gov.au address. The real ATO and ABR sites are ato.gov.au and abr.gov.au. Anything else claiming to process a TFN or ABN application is not the government, no matter how official the logo looks.
You're asked to pay before, during, or immediately after submitting your details. The real applications never ask for a card number at any point.
The ad promises speed or guarantees. "Fast track your TFN in 24 hours" or "guaranteed approval" are marketing lines a scam site uses to create urgency. The real application takes about 20 minutes online regardless of who submits it.
It showed up as a sponsored result on Google or an ad on Instagram or Facebook rather than something you searched for and clicked through to deliberately. Paid scam ads outrank the real government page more often than you'd expect.
Where to actually apply, for free
For your tax file number, use the ATO's page for foreign passport holders, permanent migrants, and temporary visitors: ato.gov.au/forms-and-instructions/tfn-application-for-permanent-migrants-and-temporary-visitors. That's the version built for people on visas, and it links straight through to the actual online form. There's no cost to apply, and it takes about 20 minutes, though you need to already be in Australia to do it.
For your ABN, apply directly at abr.gov.au/business-super-funds-charities/applying-abn. You'll need a myID to log in, and if you're applying as a sole trader with your TFN already sorted, approval and your 11-digit ABN can come through immediately once your details are verified.
Bookmark both of those. Ignore anything else that shows up first in a search.
If you've already paid or handed over details
If you've paid one of these sites, call your bank straightaway and tell them the payment was fraudulent. Card payments can sometimes be reversed through a chargeback, but the sooner you report it the better your odds.
If you gave over your passport number, TFN, or other ID documents, treat it as identity theft, not just a lost payment. Scamwatch can't tell you if a business is legitimate or a scam after the fact, and it won't recover the money, but IDCARE (Australia's identity and cyber support service) can help you work out what to lock down. If the scam involved someone contacting you claiming your TFN was compromised or suspended and asking for a fee to fix it, that's a separate and increasingly common ATO impersonation angle, and the ATO will never ask you to pay a fine or transfer money to protect your TFN.
Either way, report it. Scamwatch collects reports to get scam sites taken down and warn other people before they hit the same page. If the contact claimed to be the ATO directly, call 1800 008 540 to check and report it there too.
None of this means you did anything wrong. These sites are built to look convincing on purpose, and they're aimed at exactly the situation you're in: new country, unfamiliar process, wanting to get it right fast.
The short version
A tax file number costs nothing. An Australian business number costs nothing. If a site asks you to pay for either, close the tab. Apply at ato.gov.au for your TFN and abr.gov.au for your ABN, and nowhere else.
Related guides
If you landed here first and still need to go through the actual application process, these guides walk you through it step by step.