ATO Regulated Self-Managed Superannuation FundVersion: 9.9.7

An ATO regulated Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) is a superannuation fund regulated by the ATO. For funds other than single-member funds, an SMSF is one where:

• Before 1 July 2021 - there were no more than four members
• On or after 1 July 2021 - there are no more than six members
• all members are trustees, or directors of the trustee company
• there are no trustees or directors who are not members
• there are no members who are employees of other members (unless they are relatives)
• no trustee of the fund receives any remuneration for their services as trustee.

It is important to note that some State and Territory laws restrict the number of trustees a trust can have to less than six. An SMSF is a type of trust, so it is important that people considering an SMSF seek professional advice to help them understand if their SMSF is impacted by these restrictions. To avoid this issue, SMSFs can have a corporate trustee and each member is a director of that corporate trustee.

For funds that are single-member funds, an SMSF is one where:

• if the fund has a corporate trustee:
  • the members must be the sole director of the company, or
  • the member must be one of only two directors where the other director is a relative, or
  • the member must be one of only two directors and not an employee of the other director
• if the fund does not have a corporate trustee:
  • the member must be one of only two individual trustees and the other trustee must be a relative
  • the member must be one of only two individual trustees and not an employee of the other trustee.

In both cases, no trustee of the fund can receive any remuneration for their services as trustee.