Newsletter
FEDERAL BUDGET NEWSLETTER
SUPERANNUATION
SMSF residency changes delayed
The Government confirmed that the changes to the SMSF residency rules, previously announced in the 2021–2022 Budget to commence from 1 July 2022, will now start from the income year commencing on or after the date of assent of the enabling legislation (yet to be introduced).
These measures propose to relax the SMSF residency rules by extending the central management and control test safe harbour from two to five years, and removing the active member test for both SMSFs and small APRA funds.
Until this 2021–2022 Budget measure is enacted, SMSF trustees need to ensure that they satisfy the current requirements. Even if the central management and control safe harbour is extended to five years from the date of assent, an SMSF trustee still needs to establish (before they leave) that their planned absence from Australia will be “temporary”.
Three-year cycle for SMSF audits will not proceed
The Government will not proceed with the former government’s proposal to change the annual audit requirement for certain SMSFs to allow a three-yearly cycle for funds with a history of good record-keeping and compliance.
The measure, previously announced in the 2018–2019 Budget, was proposed to apply to SMSF trustees that have a history of three consecutive years of clear audit reports and that have lodged the fund’s annual returns in a timely manner.