SMSF administration

SMSF trustees have a number of administrative obligations to ensure their fund’s compliance with superannuation legislation, including:

• signing and submitting their trustee declaration to the ATO when the fund is set up to indicate they are aware of all their responsibilities,
• ensuring the fund is set up with a trust deed,
• appointing an independent auditor who is licensed by ASIC,
• valuing fund assets at market value,
• paying the ATO supervisory levy,
• event-based reporting,
• reporting any fund member or trustee changes, and
• maintaining general and financial fund records.

The ATO can impose a range of penalties on SMSF trustees who fail to meet their administrative obligations, depending on the severity of the non-compliance. It may be worthwhile for some trustees to obtain professional advice to help ensure their administrative compliance.

Learn about the key aspects about SMSF administration in the following SuperGuide articles: