SuperUpdate February 2012

Draft data and payment standards legislation released

The government has released exposure draft legislation and a draft explanatory memorandum giving effect to the government's commitment to improve the administration and management of super accounts.

Exposure Draft - Superannuation Data and Payment Standards is available for public consultation until 23 February 2012.

To view the draft legislation and information on how to make a submission, visit Treasury's Stronger Super website.

Data standards timeline

From 1 July 2013, APRA-regulated superannuation funds and SMSFs will be required by law to use the data and e-commerce standard for processing all rollovers.

Large and medium employers will be required by law to adopt the standard from 1 July 2014. From 1 July 2015, small employers with less than 20 employees will be required by law to use the standard for sending contributions to funds, subject to further consultation on impacts to this group.

In addition, super funds will have to be able to process contributions from 1 July 2013 that are sent by employers who voluntarily start using the standard early.

Having a standard in place across the industry will improve the productivity of back office processes for the super system and enhance data integrity.

These policies are subject to change until confirmed through the passage of legislation. The Australian Taxation Office is regularly updating the information about these changes and how it is anticipated they will be implemented. For an overview of the standard framework and development process, refer to Questions and answers for super funds, draft Rollover message implementation guide and Contributions message implementation guide.

For more information refer to the Stronger Super website.