The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will be releasing AUSkey authentication software Linux ports that use Ubuntu as its reference distribution for testing and development.

AUSkey, the government's security key that allows users to sign-on just once to access a number of online services, is being used as a replacement for the ATO'S legacy digital certificates. However, reports of compatibility problems surfaced among Linux users because the client is only available in Mac OS X and Windows. To remedy the problem, it was announced that the Australian Linux community would join the Department of Treasury in developing an open interface for its Standard Business Reporting (SBR) service. The AUSkey is a requirement for the service. The ATO also says that it will provide AUSkey for Linux.

In an interview with TechWorld, Bettina Konti, the ATO's assistant commissioner of business solutions says that the department does not plan "overtly support" Linux. However, she says that the office is working to remove the preclusion for AUSkey on Linux.

"Once we do that we will take Ubuntu and test the registration and download process through that version of Linux to make sure it works," Konti said.

Konti did not give an exact release date for the Linux AUSkey port would be available. However, she said that it would be released before the end of the year.