Tax Office reveals disqualified trustees register. The ATO has now published a list of 8disqualified trustees to aid accountants assisting with the set-up of SMSFs to identify and prevent disqualified trustees from re-entering the sector. Sally’s conviction means that she is a disqualified person and she must cease being or acting as a trustee immediately. The remaining trustees must notify us in the approved form of the change in trustees within days.
When Sally resigns her trusteeship, she remains a member of ABC until the remaining trustees cease her membership. The ATO has now established a searchable and internet accessible register of persons disqualified from being SMSF trustees (or directors of corporate SMSF trustees ). What is a disqualified trustee? Who is eligible for a trustee certificate? Can a trustee be a director of a super fund?
A person is disqualified if they: 1. See full list on ato. As a trustee or director, you must: 1. A legal personal representative can be: 1. The Trustee declaration is signed by trustees and directors of a corporate trustee of an SMSF to declare they understand their obligations and responsibilities. Read the Trustee declaration carefully. Self-managed super funds 2. Approved education courses 3. Subscribe to SMSF NewsNote: you. An individual may be disqualified as an SMSF trustee for not being a ‘fit and proper person’.
Personal character is considered along with the circumstances surrounding any contraventions. We will write to disqualified trustees detailing our decision. Australian financial services (AFS) or credit industry. It also provides information about organisations that have been: 1. AFS or credit industry and 2. The following details can be obtained free of charge: 1. ORIC maintains a register of disqualified officers. This register contains information about people who have been disqualified from managing corporations either by a court or by the Registrar.
Participating in events such as these provides us with the opportunity to share with industry our perspective as regulator. We value the support that the SMSF Association provides us in our role as a regulator and tax administrator of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). The theme of this year’s conference is ’strength’ which is certainly fitting given how strongly the SMSF sector has grown, both in terms of the increase in the number of trustees and members, and the growth of assets held by SMSFs over the last 20 years. The SMSF sector comprises close to 600funds, with over 1. The importance of good governance of the sector, therefore, cannot be underestimated. SMSFs are a significant part of the super landscape and as the regulator of SMSFs, the ATO plays a ke.
I’ve mentioned that we want to promote trust and confidence and encourage willing participation in the super system. To support this goal, a large part of our work program is centred on: 1. However, that’s only one aspect of our responsibility as regulator. In order to protect the integrity of the sector, we also need to identify and address compliance issues as they arise through our compliance program. Today, I’ll update you on the action we’ve taken to address these risks and what we’ve found so far.
Each year we analyse our data to identify key risk areas that will then form part of our compliance program. Where we find SMSF auditors aren’t performing an adequate audit or not complying with their professional obligations, we refer them to ASIC for consideration. The number of auditors referred to ASIC has steadily increased over the past three years. I think this reflects the concentration in the market and the difficulty for an SMSF auditor to stay up to date if they only have a few SMSF clients. So far this financial year we have referred a further 37auditors to ASIC.
In each case we had identified deficiencies in the auditor’s practices or a lack of compliance with their professional obligations. The auditors were referred for reasons including: 1. We recently published an article on our website to provide guidance on what is expected of an SMSF auditor in verifying the market values in the SMSF’s accounts and financial statements. This includes obtaining sufficient appropriate evidence to support the trustee’s valuation and the auditor’s reporting requirements. The second key area I’d like to talk about today is our baseline monitoring program.
As you’d be very aware, these changes have had a significant impact on trustees’ investment decisions and have resulted in wide-ranging changes to reporting obligations from both APRA funds and trustee of SMSFs. It’s critical for the ATO to be aware of any patterns or trends in how the SMSF sector is reacting and adapting to the super changes, as these may indicate emerging risks. We’ve established a baseline framework to monitor SMSF behaviour in response to the super reform measures which have made it significantly more difficult to move money into the low-taxed super environment. The methodology for the framework is generally based on the following approach: 1. I’d like to close by outlining some of the ways in which we’re supporting the SMSF sector. One of the key things we’re doing is taking a proactive approach to improving the integrity of the sector through improving basic trustee education and increased visibility of disqualified trustees.
I hope that hearing about some of the things we’re seeing highlights the importance of ensuring that trustees understand their obligations and identifying those trustees who should not be part of the sector. SMSF more costly and time consuming than they had expected 2. External Linkfound that about a third of SMSF trustees: 1. It’s vital that trustees and their advisers are aware of the responsibilities that come with being an SMSF trustee. We have a number of strategies. Another area we are working to support participants in the sector is by helping to more clearly identify trustees who have been disqualified.
Professional bodies, on behalf of their members, have expressed their frustration to us about the difficultly in ascertaining if a new client has been previously disqualified by the ATO. Disqualifications are currently gazetted but there’s no simple way to search to see if a particular trustee has been disqualified. As regulator, it is the responsibility of the ATO that wherever possible we assist professionals operating in the SMSF sector in maintaining and protecting its integrity Accordingly, I am pleased to announce that by the end of this financial year we will publish a searchable register of disqualified trustees on our website. We look forward to continuing our work with the SMSF industry and organisations such as the SMSFA to ensure the integrity of the sector so that trust and confidence in it remains strong.
Whilst each of our respective roles in the sector comes from different perspectives, undoubtedly a common objective for us all is that we want SMSFs to continue to thrive and we want trust and confidence in the credibility of SMSFs as a retirement planning choice to remain strong. We always welcome the opportunity to participate in events such as this as they promote a clearer understanding of issues that concern the industry and provide a platform for us to engage with and work with you to develop practical, client-based solutions. Illegal early release of funds and loans to members were the main reasons for disqualification.
The ATO will create and publish a register of disqualified SMSF trustees by the end of the current financial year, making currently available information more accessible to advisers and accountants. The ATO is now providing you with a Disqualified trustees register to help identify, and prevent from re-entering the sector, those who have been disqualified. The register provides information already publicly available on the Government Notices Gazette, with some added search functionality to help you search easily.
The ATO will use its powers to render an SMSF trustee a disqualified person where it sees the nee especially for illegal early access breaches. There are other ways a person may become disqualified and some people may not even realise they are disqualified. Acting as an SMSF trustee while disqualified has serious ramifications.
When a trustee registers a fund with the ATO , it must declare that the trustee and other trustees or directors of the corporate trustee are not disqualified persons. If a trustee is a disqualified person, the ATO will continue to process the registration application and any registrations for which the fund has applie however the ATO will not.