Guide to self-managed superannuation funds

Step 9: Register with the ATO

Once your fund is legally established and all trustees have signed a trustee declaration, you need to register your fund with us. When registering your fund, you can:

• elect for it to be regulated
• get a tax file number (TFN) and Australian business number (ABN)
• register for GST.

You can register: online via the Australian Business Register at abr.gov.au by completing the form ABN registration for superannuation entities (NAT 2944) and lodging it with us. To get a copy of the form, phone us on 1300 720 092.

Electing for your fund to be regulated

For your fund to be a complying fund and receive tax concessions, you need to elect for it to be regulated and comply with the super laws.

Non-regulated funds aren't entitled to tax concessions, and the members' employers (and the members who are self-employed) can't claim deductions for contributions they make to the fund.

You need to make the election within 60 days of establishing your SMSF - generally, your fund is established once the trust deed has been signed and the first contribution is made.

Getting a TFN and ABN

We allocate a TFN and ABN to all funds that register with us.

Once we've given you an ABN, we place some of your fund's details on the ABR. Funds with an ABN are also included on Super Fund Lookup. Other super funds can use Super Fund Lookup to check whether your fund is a complying fund for transferring super benefits.

Your details may not appear on Super Fund Lookup for up to seven days while we undertake registration checks - other super funds will not transfer super benefits while your fund's details are not on Super Fund Lookup.

Illegal early release

Early access to super is illegal. A newly registered SMSF will not automatically show as a complying fund in Super Fund Lookup. Instead, it will show a status of 'Registered - status not determined'.

This status indicates that the fund has not been operational for long and has not provided enough information for the ATO to determine its compliance status. Such a fund has not been issued with a notice of compliance (NOC) because it has not yet lodged its first SMSF annual tax return.

This means additional checks will need to occur before any APRA-regulated fund will process a rollover benefit payment to an SMSF with this status.

Registering for GST

You need to register the fund for goods and services tax (GST) if its annual GST turnover is more than $75,000. Your fund needs to have an ABN to register for GST.

Most SMSFs don't have to register for GST because SMSFs mainly make
input-taxed sales, and these don't count towards your GST turnover. See Goods and services tax for more information.

	We regulate SMSFs. All other funds are regulated by APRA. For more information about our role and how we work with you and others to regulate your fund, refer to How your self-managed super fund is regulated (NAT 71454)
	Self-managed super funds - home

Sections within Setting up an SMSF

• What it means to be a trustee
• How your SMSF is regulated
• Laws, rules and consequences
• Step 1: Appoint an SMSF professional to help you set up and run your fund
• Step 2: Work out the structure of your fund
• Step 3: Make sure you (and the other members) are eligible to be a trustee
• Step 4: Check the residency of your fund
• Step 5: Create your trust and trust deed
• Step 6: Appoint your trustees
• Step 7: Record each member's tax file number
• Step 8: Open a bank account for your fund
• Step 9: Register with the ATO
• Step 10: Prepare an investment strategy