• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SuperGuide

Superannuation and retirement planning information

  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Account
  • Log In
  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Account
  • Log In
  • How super works
    • Super for beginners
    • Super rules
    • Employers guide to super
    • Super contributions
    • Super and tax
    • Accessing super
    • Super news
    • Women and super
    • Super tips and strategies
    • How-to guides
    • Super quizzes
    • Superannuation Q&As
    • Superannuation glossary
  • Super funds
    • Best performing super funds
    • Super fund rankings
    • Best performing pension funds
    • Pension fund rankings
    • Super fund average returns
    • Super investing strategies
    • Comparing super funds
    • Choosing a super fund
    • Choosing an investment option
    • Super fund fees
    • Insurance and super
    • Super fund profiles
  • SMSFs
    • SMSFs for beginners
    • SMSF administration
    • SMSF checklists
    • SMSF compliance
    • SMSF investing
    • SMSF pensions
    • SMSF strategies
    • SMSF Q&As
  • Plan your retirement
    • Retirement planning for beginners
    • When should I retire?
    • How long will I live?
    • How much super do I need?
    • Will I get the Age Pension?
    • How much will I spend in retirement?
    • Financial advice
    • Retiring overseas
    • Preparing for retirement
    • Retirement planning strategies
    • Retirement calculators and reckoners
  • In retirement
    • Income in retirement
    • Super lump sums
    • Super pensions
    • Age Pension
    • Working in retirement
    • Life in retirement
    • Senior concessions and services
    • Aged care
    • Estate planning
    • Super death benefits

Home / SMSFs / SMSF administration / SMSF trustee meeting event checklist

SMSF trustee meeting event checklist

February 13, 2020 by Penny Pryor Leave a Comment

Reading time: 4 minutes

On this page

  • 1. Establishing the fund
  • 2. Adopting an investment strategy
  • 3. Changes to the investment strategy
  • 4. Purchasing or divesting an asset (and transfer balance reporting)
  • 5. Starting up a pension
  • 6. Amending a trust deed
  • 7. Appointing a fund administrator/accountant or auditor
  • 8. Adding or removing a member
  • 9. Approving annual returns and accounts

The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 states the following with regard to when minutes need to be kept:


(1)  If a superannuation entity has a group of individual trustees, the trustees must keep, and retain for at least ten years, minutes of all meetings of the trustees at which matters affecting the entity were considered.

(2)  If there is only one trustee of a superannuation entity:

(a)  If the trustee is a corporate trustee—the directors of the trustee must keep, and retain for at least ten years, minutes of all meetings of the directors at which matters affecting the entity were considered; or

(b)  If the trustee is an individual—the trustee must keep, and retain for at least ten years, a record of all decisions made by the trustee in respect of matters affecting the entity.


Obviously, it is difficult to hold a meeting of just one person, so the Act only requires members of single member funds to keep records of all major decisions. But what exactly does the phrase ‘matters affecting the entity’ mean?


Advertisement
SuperGuide Premium is ad-free

The following checklist covers most major events that will require meetings and minutes. A number of the below matters could be discussed at the same meeting but all must have individual resolutions (a record of a decision made) in the SMSF minutes.

You can download and print the checklist if you’d like to check off each meeting.


Download

Continue reading for explanations of each item on the list.

1. Establishing the fund

A meeting should be held of the SMSF members right at the beginning when the decision is made to establish the fund. This meeting is a good opportunity to discuss and draft the investment strategy for the fund and get across the risk profiles of all the individual members.

If you’re not sure about your own risk profile, take our risk profile quiz to check your attitude to risk.

2. Adopting an investment strategy

Once members have decided on an investment strategy they will need to adopt it unanimously at a trustee meeting. If members have very different approaches to investment risk, negotiation will be needed around establishing the fund’s asset allocation and this will all need to be documented in the investment strategy. The trustee minute should include a resolution that simply states: “All members of XYZ fund resolve to accept the attached investment strategy for the fund.”

Insurance needs also need to be included in an investment strategy and the resolution to adopt a strategy should specify that insurance needs of members have also been considered. You can find more articles on investments and investment strategy here.

3. Changes to the investment strategy

Any changes to your investment strategy need to be discussed at a trustee meeting and agreed upon by all members. It’s not enough for one member to say that they want to leave more of their funds in cash, they need to have some idea of projected returns of such an investment and explain to all members whey such an investment would improve their retirement outcomes. Any change needs to be minuted with a resolution that states that all parties agreed on the change.

Compare super funds

Read more...

Advertisement

4. Purchasing or divesting an asset (and transfer balance reporting)

If, as a result of an investment strategy change, an asset is bought or sold, this needs to be minuted when the decision is made. Transactions need to be made at arm’s length and if there are members in pension phase in the fund, transfer balance reporting of the transaction may also be required.

See SuperGuide article TBAR: Transfer balance account reporting for SMSFs for more information on when transfer balance reporting is required.

5. Starting up a pension

A meeting should be held when a member transitions from accumulation to retirement phase. An actuarial certificate will be needed when the member starts drawing down a pension and there will also be transfer balance event reporting requirements. All of this needs to be discussed among members at a meeting and documented in a minute.

Learn more about starting an SMSF pension in SuperGuide article SMSFs: How to start a pension.

6. Amending a trust deed

The trust deed is effectively a fund’s operating manual so any changes are important matters that need to be discussed and for which trustee meetings need to be held. Even if they are simple amendments, such as allowing a fund to pay a pension, a meeting could be a good opportunity to discuss potential future changes – such as allowing different types of investments.

Learn more about trust deeds in the SuperGuide Guide to SMSF trust deeds.

7. Appointing a fund administrator/accountant or auditor

You may decide during the course of operating your SMSF that you would like to use a service provider, such as a fund administrator. You will probably also use an accountant and you are required by law to appoint an independent auditor to audit your fund each year. Each of these decisions to appoint professionals needs to be discussed and agreed on by all members and documented in a minute.

8. Adding or removing a member

If you wish to add members to your fund, or members want to leave, these decisions and the reasons for them should be discussed by remaining members and documented in a minute. A trustee meeting should definitely be held in the unfortunate event that a member needs to be removed as this is not a simple process.

9. Approving annual returns and accounts

Each year you will need to complete your fund’s accounts and annual return which needs to be lodged with the Australian Taxation Office. Completing your accounts requires your assets to be valued as at 30 June each year, which may require independent valuations. Final asset values for investments must be understood and agreed upon by all members at a meeting and all should have copies of the fund’s annual accounts.

Advertisement

The bottom line

Trustee meetings, and their resolutions and minutes, are meant to ensure that all members are across all matters concerning the fund. By requiring all members be involved, it makes sure that no party is better informed than any other.

We hope our checklist will assist you in holding frequent trustee meetings and documenting all decisions. Don’t forget – a trustee minute isn’t a complex document; just a statement of what has occurred during the meeting and what was resolved.

For more information and a template, read our article about keeping SMSF minutes.

Want to learn more about running an SMSF?

Become a SuperGuide Premium member and access expert guides for SMSFs, on topics such as costs, compliance, administration, investment, borrowing and pensions. Discover valuable super and retirement strategies, the most popular shares, managed funds and ETFs for SMSFs, the latest super rates and thresholds, contributions caps and more.

Includes more than 600 articles, how-to guides, checklists, tips, calculators, case studies, quizzes and a monthly newsletter.

Find out more


Learn more about SMSF administration in the following SuperGuide articles:

Your SMSF calendar

January 4, 2021

What you need to know about six member SMSFs

December 1, 2020

SMSF trustee housekeeping checklist for 2020/21

June 29, 2020

Guide to the ATO SMSF supervisory levy

June 1, 2020

The SMSF trustee declaration explained

June 1, 2020

Guide to SMSF trust deeds

June 1, 2020

SMSF annual admin checklist

April 22, 2020

Top 5 mistakes SMSF trustees make with their annual returns

April 22, 2020

Guide to SMSF administration, reporting and record-keeping

January 1, 2020

SMSFs: What advice can your accountant provide?

December 14, 2019

How to wind up an SMSF

December 4, 2019

How to set up an SMSF correctly

December 3, 2019

How to record SMSF minutes

November 3, 2019

Guide to SMSF audits

June 14, 2019

Real DIY super: Ways that SMSFs can be ultra low-cost

May 2, 2019

Estate planning, super and SMSFs: Getting your house in order

February 11, 2019

Learn more about SMSF checklists in the following SuperGuide articles:

Your SMSF calendar

January 4, 2021

SMSF trustee housekeeping checklist for 2020/21

June 29, 2020

SMSF annual admin checklist

April 22, 2020

Starting an SMSF pension checklist

March 23, 2020

SMSF investment strategy health checklist

February 14, 2020

Related topics

SMSF administration SMSFs

Related features

SMSF checklists

IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

© Copyright SuperGuide 2009-21. Copyright for this article belongs to SuperGuide Pty Ltd, and cannot be reproduced without express and specific consent. Learn more

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

How super works
Super for beginners
Super rules
Employers guide to super
Super contributions
Super and tax
Accessing super
Super news
Women and super
Super tips and strategies
How-to guides
Super quizzes
Superannuation Q&As
Superannuation glossary
Super funds
Best performing super funds
Super fund rankings
Best performing pension funds
Pension fund rankings
Super fund average returns
Super investing strategies
Comparing super funds
Choosing a super fund
Choosing an investment option
Super fund fees
Insurance and super
Super fund profiles
SMSFs
SMSFs for beginners
SMSF administration
SMSF checklists
SMSF compliance
SMSF investing
SMSF pensions
SMSF strategies
SMSF Q&As
Plan your retirement
Retirement planning for beginners
When should I retire?
How long will I live?
How much super do I need?
Will I get the Age Pension?
How much will I spend in retirement?
Financial advice
Retiring overseas
Preparing for retirement
Retirement planning strategies
Retirement calculators and reckoners
In retirement
Income in retirement
Super lump sums
Super pensions
Age Pension
Working in retirement
Life in retirement
Senior concessions and services
Aged care
Estate planning
Super death benefits
Advertisement
Compare super funds

Footer

Important: Disclaimer

All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

Learn more

About SuperGuide

SuperGuide is Australia’s leading superannuation and retirement planning website. Learn more

Superguide Pty Ltd ATF Superguide Unit Trust as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Independent Financial Advisers Australia, AFSL 464629

  • Contact us
  • Advertise on SuperGuide
  • Careers

Before using this website

  • New to SuperGuide?
  • Terms and Conditions of Use
  • Financial Services Guide
  • Privacy Policy and Privacy Collection
  • Copyright Policy
  • Editorial Policy and Complaints
  • Disclaimer

  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Subscriber feedback
  • Sitemap