It is an ATO requirement to have at least two individual Trustees or a Corporate Trustee for an SMSF. The reason for having a minimum of two individual Trustees or a Corporate Trustee is because an SMSF is a trust structure and does not have legal persona. It has to be represented by at least two individual Trustees or a Corporate Trustee. 

You can set up your SMSF with only one Member (a Member is the one who contributes funds to the SMSF). To set up a single Member SMSF, the superannuation legislation requires you to have two individual Trustees or a Corporate Trustee for the Fund.

If you have a Corporate Trustee for a single member SMSF, the Member must be either be:

• The sole director of the Corporate Trustee; or
• One of only two directors, that is either:
  • Related to the other director; or
  • Not an employee of the other director.

If you choose not to have a Corporate Trustee, the SMSF must have two individual Trustees. One Trustee must be the Member and the other Trustee must be a person who is either:

• Related to the Member; or
• Not an employer of the Member.

Upon the death of the single Member, the second Trustee steps into the manager position of the Fund and allocate the Member’s funds in the SMSF to the estate or the Binding death nomination of the Member. For more information on the duties and responsibilities of a Trustee and a Member, please see the ATO guidance.

Next Step

To apply for a single Member SMSF with us, please click here.