The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (“IRAS”) and the Australian Taxation
Office (“ATO”) have entered into a Competent Authority Agreement (“Agreement”) on
the automatic exchange of financial account information (“AEOI”) based on the
Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”). The CRS is an internationally agreed
standard for AEOI, endorsed by OECD and Global Forum for Transparency and
Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (“GF”). More than 100 jurisdictions have
endorsed the CRS and will commence AEOI in either 2017 or 2018.

Singapore and Australia will commence AEOI under the CRS by September 2018.
Under the Agreement, IRAS will automatically exchange with the ATO, financial
account information of accounts in Singapore held by Australian tax residents while
the ATO will automatically exchange with IRAS, financial account information of
accounts in Australia held by Singapore tax residents. Both jurisdictions are satisfied
with the confidentiality rules and data safeguards that are in place in the other
jurisdiction to ensure the confidentiality of information exchanged and prevent its
unauthorised use.

With the Agreement, Singapore and Australia have taken another step in enhancing
cooperation to support greater tax transparency and fight against tax evasion. Both
jurisdictions will work toward implementing AEOI with other major financial centres to
ensure a level playing field.

Issued by:

Australian Taxation Office
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
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