SMSFs are regulated by the ATO. Although Trustees call on various professionals to assist them in meeting their responsibilities and obligations, such as accountants, tax agents, financial planners, administrators and approved auditors; the ultimate responsible for the running of an SMSF lies squarely with the Trustees.

The vast majority of Trustees operate their Funds within the rules, and the ATO is happy to work with Trustees to help them correct mistakes or fix any problems that may have occurred inadvertently. However, where the Fund is operated with deliberate or persistent disregard for the rules, the ATO will not hesitate to take action, including winding up Funds, disqualifying Trustees and issuing the fund with a notice of non-compliance.

For information and guidance on all aspects of SMSFs, the following excellent publications are available for download:

1. Thinking about self-managed super – Six steps to work out if managing your own super is right for you
2. Setting up a self-managed super fund – What you need to know
3. Running a self-managed super fund – Your role and responsibilities as a trustees
4. SMSFs – key messages for trustees
5. Trustee declaration
6. Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions
7. Paying Benefits from an SMSF
8. Winding up a self-managed super fund

The ATO releases information on a quarterly basis. It is clear from the statistics that SMSFs are a rapidly growing industry. For example, there are currently more than 598,429 SMSFs in existence. For more information about statistics generated by the ATO, click here.

When there’s uncertainty about a tax or regulatory matter concerning an SMSF, you can approach the ATO directly for SMSF specific advice.

To know more about SMSF, please see the ATO video below

For videos discussing the Coronavirus relief for Trustees, click on this link.