Monday August 17, 2020
Keeping it Simple with Chris Jordan AO
In this episode, we speak to Chris Jordan AO who has driven major change in the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) since assuming the position of Commissioner in 2013. But it wasn’t his first public service role. Straight out of school, Chris followed his father into the NSW Police Force where he served on Sydney’s North Shore. The observation and communication skills he learnt on the beat, helped him to steer the ATO ship.
In Chris’ view, the cultural “reinvention’’ of the ATO over the past seven years has prepared the organisation to deal with the challenges of COVID-19. He is effusive in his praise of the ATO’s people and their leadership as they battled with the demands of major bushfires and a global pandemic in 2020.
Discussed in this episode:
- Chris’ public service beginnings as a policeman.
- What the public service can learn from the private sector.
- Challenging the status quo.
- The biggest challenges of implementing the JobKeeper program.
- How the ATO is preparing for the future.