SMSF practitioners who are unlicensed have been reminded they can provide guidance around the operations of a fund, but must make it clear this information is not advice and they are not directing clients to take specific action.
SMSF Association policy manager Keddie Waller pointed out these conditions existed under Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulation 7.1.29(5), which also detailed the limits that apply for non-licensed practitioners.
“This is a really important regulation and I would recommend everyone in the room becomes familiar with it,” Waller told attendees of the association’s Technical Summit 2025 in Sydney today.
“This regulation allows you to provide information and compliance advice to clients without having to be licensed and lets you talk about establishing, operating, structuring or valuing an SMSF.
“You can also provide administrative advice and talk to clients about the process of winding up an SMSF,” she said, noting the advice could extend to adding trustees, transfers and rollovers and modifying contributions in response to changes in the superannuation guarantee.
“There are, however, a couple of things you need to think about. The client has to be in their capacity as the trustee and not as a member.
“You must also provide them a written disclaimer that says you are not licensed and they should consider advice from a licensed adviser first.
“There is an additional caveat to this. If you are a licensed adviser, you cannot rely on this regulation because ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) has deemed because you are licensed, you can’t provide a disclaimer to say you’re not licensed, and they expect you to provide advice in your capacity as a financial adviser, but if you’re not licensed, you can rely on that if you have the right disclaimer.”
She acknowledged the difficulty that can arise in providing advice under a disclaimer and stressed it should not contain anything that would influence the client to act.
“With the ability to use this regulation to provide information around the establishment of an SMSF, the challenge is it can be very difficult to provide that without providing advice to set up an SMSF, so if you are going to have this conversation, be very clear on what you’re saying and the boundaries that apply,” she said.
“If you’re doing this because the client has received a recommendation from a financial adviser, keep that recommendation on file.
“Have a copy of the statement of advice in the file notes to show you have not provided the recommendation and you’re merely doing the execution.”
