Quarterly compliance checks urged for SMSFs

People running self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) need to review their position with respect to compliance at least three or four times a year, according to specialist superannuation lawyer, Michael Hallinan.

Hallinan, of Sydney-based firm Townsends Business and Corporate Lawyers, told a business breakfast today that in circumstances where any breaches needed to be rectified within six months of them occurring, trustees needed to remain vigilant.

He said this was particularly the case because the six-month rule applied from the time of the breach occurring rather than it being detected.

Hallinan said that, generally, once a fund had breached the SMSF rules, it would cease to have the status of an SMSF six months after that breach had occurred, meaning it would be forced into the jurisdiction of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

He said that once within the ambit of APRA, the trustees would need to consider the obligations with respect to trustee licensing as well as the possibility of significant transition costs and the obligation to file double returns under the Superannuation Industry Supervision (SIS) Act for the year in which the breach occurred.

Hallinan said that for these reasons it was important for the trustees of SMSFs to identify any problems as early as possible to ensure that their fund remained compliant.