SMSF Association Media Release
The SMSF Association supports the Australian National Audit Office’s (ANAO) proposed performance audit of the ATO’s regulation of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).
Association CEO, Peter Burgess, says the timing is right to test whether current regulatory settings strike the right balance between protecting members and maintaining the integrity of the SMSF sector.
“Notably, the ANAO last examined the ATO’s regulation of SMSFs in 2007; close to twenty years on – and now with expanded ATO compliance powers – a fresh, balanced assessment is warranted.
“The ATO has a dual role with SMSFs in that it is both the regulator and the administrator of Australia’s tax and super laws. That dual mandate should translate into timely, practical, whole-of-sector guidance, especially where super and tax intersect.
“Instead, trustees and professionals are too often left with non-binding ‘SMSF specific advice’ and slow, case-by-case private rulings – an approach that doesn’t deliver clarity at scale.”
The ANAO has been here before. In 2012 it recommended the ATO measure trustee satisfaction and improve access to SMSF guidance.
“We hope a new review will test what’s changed and whether the ATO’s current guidance model meets the needs of trustees and SMSF professionals.”
The ANAO’s audit will also include a follow-up on employer compliance with Superannuation Guarantee requirements which is critical given Payday Super is due to begin on 1 July 2026.
“We look forward to engaging with members and contributing to this review to ensure practical, industry-supporting recommendations emerge,” says Burgess.