Almost half of contributions made by SMSF trustees are being processed manually rather than through SuperStream, according to the latest research released by Class.
The Class “2024 Annual Benchmark Report” found 46.3 per cent of contributions made to SMSFs on its platform in the 2023 financial year, amounting to $1.1 billion and over 555,600 transactions, had bypassed SuperStream, despite funds needing to adopt it for contributions since 2016.
“One in two concessional contributions processed on Class are not using SuperStream,” Class chief executive Tim Steele said during a presentation at Class Ignite 2024 in Sydney yesterday.
“[Adopting SuperStream] ensures employers meet their super guarantee obligations and enable financial advisers to offer timely, strategic advice on these contributions. We think this is essential for the continued future and growth of the SMSF sector.”
While the report indicated there had been a steady increase in SMSFs using SuperStream to process transactions since 2021, Steele raised concerns about the continued reliance on the manual processing of contributions considering the new payday super obligations that will come into effect in 2026.
“There’s a significant area of opportunity, especially when we compare [SMSFs] to APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority)-regulated funds, who are obviously a bit more advanced in adopting the technology,” he said.
“To promote compliance by 1 July 2026, when payday super obligations are set to begin, accountants and advisers can help SMSF trustees by encouraging them to adopt SuperStream, even if they currently qualify for exemptions.”
The report also noted a slight increase in the average superannuation balances trustees have rolled in and out of SMSFs using SuperStream after a period when several issues were reported by practitioners and trustees using it.
“While the average rollover amounts both in and out were significantly lower post the introduction of SuperStream, during the 2024 financial year, these amounts begin to rise again,” it stated.
“This uptick suggests that more funds are recognising the benefits of SuperStream and are increasingly adopting it for rollovers.”
