Advice fees part of APRA’s new standards

Superannuation funds will have to disclose all types of advice-related fees charged to members as part of the new reporting standards released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). 

In its final reporting requirements for super funds released last week, APRA identified two types of the advice fee that super funds will have to disclose: direct advice fee and advice-related tax expense/benefit. 

“Direct advice fee represents the portion of a fee charged to a member that relates to the provision of financial product advice to a member by the Registrable Superannuation Entity licensee, gross of tax obligations,” the document stated. 

“Advice-related tax expense/benefit represents the portion of income tax expense/benefit that is associated with advice expenses or due to advice-related activities.” 

Super funds will have to tell the regulator how much they charge in advice fees, whether it be a dollar amount or a percentage of assets. 

Fee disclosure is part of APRA’s package of 35 final reporting standards, forms and instructions for superannuation funds. 

These revisions will be the first changes to the reporting requirements for superannuation since 2004. 

APRA’s deputy chairman Ross Jones said the regulator acknowledged the issues raised by the industry regarding commencement dates. 

“APRA acknowledges these requirements are a significant change for industry and will be amenable to requests for a short extension, especially for the first reporting period,” Jones said. 

“Overall, APRA expects that this new data collection will be of significant benefit to all industry stakeholders and will address the demand for greater transparency from a range of stakeholders over a number of years.” 

The requirements in 24 of the 35 reporting standards will take effect from 1 July, 2013, while the remaining 11 take effect from 1 July, 2014.