What is the SMSF Association?

The association’s membership is open to SMSF professionals, such as financial planners, accountants, tax agents, auditors, lawyers, administrators and actuaries. There are five different categories of membership, each with its own set of benefits for members. The membership categories are - associate, affiliate, specialist, fellow, and retired. 

Members gain access to a variety of CPD resources and opportunities to interact with experts. The technical research and resource library of the SMSF Association enables members to serve clients better and enhance the value of their own advice and services. SMSF news and the latest developments are circulated to members through the association’s newsletter. Membership of the SMSF Association also gives professionals a way to add their voice to discussions with the government and regulators.

The SMSF Association is a professional body governed through a constitution, elected board and executive team and follows the AICD Not-For-Profit Governance Principles. A number of committees handle the administration and management of the Association.

The SMSF Association has played a role in many discussions that have influenced policy. A few of these are:

• When the Productivity Commissions took a position that an SMSF is only cost-effective at balances of $1 million and above, the SMSF Association played an instrumental role in persuading them to bring this amount down to $500,000. This change helped to make SMSFs a viable alternative to more Aussies, regardless of their super balance or stage in life.
  
  
• COVID-19 relief initiatives for the SMSF sector, such as a reduction in minimum pension withdrawals, rental relief, LRBA relief, electronic signatures etc.
  
  
• Advocating ways to make super funds more flexible, such as higher concessional caps and catch-up contributions.
  
  
• Supporting the use of digital rollovers between SMSFs and large super funds.
  
  
• Working to raise the ethical and professional standards for financial advisers and supporting them to complete the approved qualification exams.
  
  
• Working to retain limited resource borrowing arrangements as an investment option for SMSFs.
  
  
• A number of technical fixes and reforms related to valuations, taxation, streamlining, untaxed elements in death benefit rollovers, ECPI changes, raising the work test age, simplifying processes, and protecting the interests of members. 

The SMSF Association runs a portal called SMSF Connect for people running a self-managed super fund or considering setting one up. This portal provides access to compliance-related information through a variety of learning resources. SMSF trustees can also find investment information on aspects such as diversification, portfolio construction, specific asset classes, markets, industries and trends. SMSF trustees can speak with an expert for detailed guidance.