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Getting social: ATO Commissioner Chris Jordan has given his staff access to Facebook and Twitter. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer

Australia's tens of thousands of tax officials have been unleashed onto the internet's social networks.

ATO workers are now able to use social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn on their work computers for the first time, beginning Monday.

But the newfound freedom of the web for the ATO's 23,000 public servants has come with a warning from Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan, that it is to be used sensibly.

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Mr Jordan announced on Monday morning that staff at all sites around the nation would have access to the sites on their desktop computers, a workplace freedom that had previously been considered too dangerous for the ATO.

The move, part of the Commissioner's drive to modernise the Taxation Office, would allow officials to communicate with taxpayers "through their channels of choice".

"Increasingly, people are using these channels to communicate socially as well as professionally - to connect with people, share ideas and best practice, and build their networks," Mr Jordan wrote in his all-staff bulletin.

"If we are to deliver a contemporary client experience, it's important that we interact with our clients through channels of their choice."

Do you know more? Send your confidential tips to ps@canberratimes.com.au

Read more here:
The ATO's social (media) revolution begins