Establishing your SMSF fund
Setting up a self-managed super fund — trustees, deeds, ABN/TFN, bank accounts, and the audit obligations that come with running your own super.
What an SMSF actually is
An SMSF is a private superannuation fund with up to six members, where the members are also the trustees (or directors of a corporate trustee). You make the investment decisions; the fund must comply with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act and ATO rulings.
The trade-off vs an industry fund: more control, more work, and full personal liability for compliance breaches.
Setup steps
1. Choose trustee structure — corporate trustee (a company whose directors are the members) or individual trustees. Corporate is more expensive to set up but cleaner long-term, especially with property in the fund.
2. Trust deed — drafted by a solicitor or via an online provider. Defines the fund's rules. About $300-$1,000.
3. Apply for ABN, TFN, and elect to be a regulated super fund — done through the ATO's online forms.
4. Open a bank account in the fund's name. Some banks require sighting the deed and trustee documents.
5. Roll over your existing super balance once the fund is established.
Ongoing obligations
Annual independent audit (mandatory, ~$400-$800), annual ATO return, annual member statements, investment strategy review, and continuous compliance monitoring. Most SMSFs use an accountant or admin platform for the bookkeeping — running it 100% manually is doable but error-prone.
Penalties for breaches range from administrative directions to making the fund non-complying (which has a 47% tax rate impact). Don't DIY this without competent advice.
Recommended minimum balance to make an SMSF cost-effective: $250K-$500K, given annual running costs of $2K-$5K eat smaller balances disproportionately.
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