Articles by Jason Spits

ASIC, Compliance, Regulation, Superannuation

Mercer hit with $11.3m greenwashing penalty

Federal court ASIC Greenwashing Mercer Superannuation

The Federal Court has ordered Mercer Superannuation to pay a multi-million-dollar penalty after misleading members over the nature of its sustainable investment options.

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Compliance, Tax

Tax agent code change pushed back

Tax Practitioners Board TPB Code of Professional Conduct Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 Stephen Jones SMSF Association Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

New additions to the code of conduct for registered tax agents will now apply from two dates in 2025 and not from 1 August following a late change by the government.

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Auditing, Contributions

Contributions not an audit matter

SMSF auditors The Actuaries Institute Graeme Colley Contributions caps

Contributions are no longer a consideration for auditors, who have been reminded their treatment no longer resides under super law.

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Superannuation

General TBC will rise to $2 million

transfer balance cap TBC superannuation Inflation CPI Craig Day Colonial First State

Inflation has risen enough to indicate the general transfer balance cap will increase again at the start of the of 2026 financial year.

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Auditing, SMSF

Document long-standing audit relationships

SMSF auditors Independence Self-managed superannuation The Auditors Institute Steven Russo

Long-standing SMSF audit arrangements should be routinely examined to ensure they do not hamper a practitioner’s independence and documented to prove their suitability.

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ATO, SMSF, Tax

Deeming rate acceptable for Div 296

SMSF Association Division 296 Peter Burgess Earnings calculation Proxy Deeming rate 90 day bank bill rate

The use of a deeming rate as a proxy for actual taxable earnings when calculating the Division 296 tax is acceptable to the SMSF Association, which stated it was better than the proposed model.

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ASIC, financial advice, Regulation

NSW adviser banned over conflicts of interest

ASIC Australian Securities and Investments Commission Trust SMSF Self-managed superannuation fund Australian financial services licence Christopher Edward Luff

A NSW adviser who offered an investment trust product to clients within an SMSF has been banned for not acting in their best interest and for providing inappropriate advice.

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ATO, Compliance, ECPI, Tax

Avoid ECPI Div 296 exploits

ECPI exempt current pension income Division 296 tax Total superannuation balance TSB

SMSFs should avoid strategies that exploit the tax-free aspects of the ECPI rules to sidestep potential Division 296 tax liabilities as they are readily identifiable as avoidance schemes.

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Aged Care, financial advice

Super discussion should include aged care

Discussions with older clients about housing should touch on future aged-care needs before jumping straight to the role of super in funding a move.

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Legislation, SMSF, SMSFA, Tax

Unchanged Div 296 bill not certain

SMSF SMSF Association Self-managed superannuation Division 296 tax LRBA Limited recourse borrowing arrangement Peter Burgess Unrealised capital gains SMSF Association Technical Summit

The SMSF Association has predicted there is an even chance the proposed Division 296 tax bill will be amended over concerns relating to its calculation method and unrealised gains.

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