While the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has withdrawn its proposed action seeking to legally outlaw excessive contribution provisions within an SMSF trust deed as a means to prevent trustees from breaching the non-concessional contributions cap, the practical application of this course of action seems unworkable, according to an expert superannuation lawyer.

A discussion panel of regulators containing representatives from Treasury, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has unanimously given a positive assessment of the SMSF sector.

The SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) has appointed Peter Crump as its new chair.

Trustees can rely on a reasonable approach to be applied by the regulator in situations of genuine adversity, according to an SMSF technical expert.

When looking to hold risk cover inside an SMSF, advisers must ensure the ownership of the policy rests with the super fund itself and not with the individual members, two industry experts have said.

The new administrative penalties to be applied via a sliding scale by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have presented a more compelling argument to employ a corporate trustee as opposed to individual trustees for SMSFs, according to a technical expert for the sector.