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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority regulated superannuation funds

Last updated 12 February 2019

Superannuation funds that are regulated by APRA as at 30 June 2016 must use the Fund income tax return 2016 to lodge their tax return.

For the types of funds regulated by APRA, see table 1.

Self-managed superannuation funds

Superannuation funds that are self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SISA) at any time during 2015–16 must use the Self-managed superannuation fund annual return 2016 to lodge information relating to income tax, regulatory and member contribution details. This includes an SMSF that was non-complying in 2015–16 or that was established or wound up during 2015–16.

Generally a superannuation fund with more than one member is an SMSF if:

  • the fund has two to four members
  • no member of the fund is an employee of another member of the fund unless they are related
  • each member of the fund is a trustee and each trustee is a member of the fund, and
  • no trustee of the fund receives any remuneration for their services as a trustee of the fund.

Alternatively, a superannuation fund that has more than one member and a company as the trustee (known as a corporate trustee) is an SMSF if:

  • the fund has two to four members
  • each member of the fund is a director of the company and each director of the company is a member of the fund
  • no member of the fund is an employee of another member of the fund unless they are related
  • the company does not receive any remuneration for its services as a trustee, and
  • no director of the company receives any remuneration for the services performed as a director in relation to the fund.

A superannuation fund with only one member is an SMSF if:

  • the member of the fund is a trustee and there is a second trustee who is either a relative of the member or is not the member's employer or
  • a company is the trustee of the fund and the member is the sole director of the company or there is a second director of the company and that other director is a relative of the member or is not the member's employer and
  • no remuneration is received by a trustee or director for their services to the fund.

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