Pilots and trials
Prior to the formal release of SBR on 1 July 2010 the SBR Program undertook a number of pilots and trials of its full range of facilities.
In addition the Program used 'user-based testing' techniques to simulate the user experience for several of the forms in scope.
The results from pilots, trials and testing guided the government agencies and software developers involved in SBR. They ensured that the products and services developed are reliable and well suited to the needs of business, as well as informing plans for delivery.
Major pilots and trials
May - June 2010: SBR used by businesses and intermediaries involved in a pre-release pilot of SBR involving three agencies and three forms:
- ASIC 388 coversheet – Financial statements and report;
- Queensland payroll tax periodic return; and
- ATO Tax file number declaration.
September 2009 to January 2010: End to end testing: During this period software developers tested forms from participating agencies, from creation of reports to transmission to the relevant agency and receipt confirmation. This final stage of testing will demonstrate that all the SBR systems and procedures work for businesses, software developers and participating government agencies, for the major reporting types.
February-May 2009: Tax File Number Declaration Pilot: This pilot involved a limited release of all the SBR capability available by this date, including the taxonomy, initial versions of the SBR Core Services, agency services, and prototypical versions of SBR-enabled software products from the participating software developers. This pilot provides the first opportunity to demonstrate the business value of SBR, simulating the final environment as closely as possible with the assistance of a limited number of businesses and software developers.
March 2009: Third release of the SBR AU Taxonomy (Taxonomy Cycle 3) - This version of the SBR taxonomy, incorporated over 12 months of effort to harmonise reporting definitions across agencies. It includes definitional information for all forms in scope of SBR.
September 2008: Part 2 of the second release of the SBR Taxonomy (Taxonomy Cycle 2.2). This version built on the forms covered in Cycle 1, expanding the set of definitions to cover 20 of the major reporting forms in scope of SBR. This version was also the first to include a significant degree of harmonisation of definitions across the participating agencies, and has been the version used for the first pilot (see Tax File Number Declaration Pilot below).
June 2008: Part 1 of the second release of the SBR Taxonomy (Taxonomy Cycle 2.1). This release focused on only one form, the Tax File Number (TFN) Declaration form from ATO.
March 2008: First release of the SBR Taxonomy (Taxonomy Cycle 1), provided businesses, intermediaries and software developers with the first opportunity to see what an XBRL-based taxonomy can offer. This initial release defined all the information to be reported on a small subset of forms in scope of SBR.
