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Is your SMSF ready for 1 October?
It seems to be the month of change in the financial services industry, with a raft of measures hitting the financial advice sector in October. They aren’t alone, however, with the Australian Tax Office set to extend their SuperStream system to all superannuation funds, but particular self-managed super funds or SMSFs.
From 1 October, SMSF trustees will be required to registered with SuperStream and in fact that will only be able to accept rollovers through this system. Put simply, SuperStream is a ‘data and payment standard’ that is relied upon for all digital transactions in the super industry.
At present, all contributions to industry and other funds must be made via the centralised system. Essentially it allows the transfer of data and funds to ensure the efficient and expedient completion and settlement of contributions. For instance, the Super Stream system communicates to the receiving fund the type (concessional or non-concessional) and amount of contribution being made.
SuperStream relies on what is known as an Electronic Service Address, which despite what the name suggests, is not an email address. The system has expanded to the SMSF cohort in order to bring more consistency to the system, particularly with the growing numbers of people transferring between industry funds and SMSFs in both directions.
Many SMSFs may already be registered for SuperStream where they have been receiving contributions on behalf of their members, with major service providers like Class Super and Macquarie Bank offering a solution to customers. If you aren’t sure about your status you will need get in touch with your accountant or financial adviser to confirm. If you have a copy of your tax return it is available in Section A: Fund Information.
For those seeking to register themselves, a few steps are requiring the first being to ensure your records are up to date with the Australian Tax Office. You will also need to locate or register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) if you do not already have one. You will need to confirm with your accountant or accounting system what your ESA is and whether it is Rollover v3 enabled.
The rollover process remains the same, you can request directly from the existing fund, providing any additional information they require, which can take several weeks. You can submit a request via the ATO’s online services in their My Gov account, or use the standard ATO form utilising their standard template.
