The Australian Taxation Office has admitted its working hours do not meet community expectations and are inefficient.

Staff at the ATO have one of the shortest working weeks in Government but when they were asked to work an extra nine minutes a day to boost productivity, they responded with a backlash until the proposal was dropped.

Documents obtained by the ABC under freedom of information laws reveal the push to extend working hours to 5:00pm — an extra 4.5 working days a year — proved “highly contentious” and was ultimately dropped to ease concerns.

ATO staff have finished work at 4:51pm for many years despite management acknowledging the roster is out-of-step with community expectations and the rest of the bureaucracy.

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ABC