08/09/2026
The Federal Government has announced a shake-up of the rules for Self-Managed Super Funds. Here's the plain-English version.
Start with what an SMSF is, because the term gets thrown around a lot. Most people's super sits in a large fund that invests it for them. A Self-Managed Super Fund is the alternative — you run it yourself, you decide what it invests in, and you carry the legal responsibility for every decision.
Announced 19 August 2026, the proposed changes would mean you'd have to prove you understand those responsibilities before your fund can be registered, possibly by sitting a test. Every fund would need its own dedicated bank account and a written plan for how the money is invested, both ready before it opens. And the ATO would gain the power to stop you moving super out of a large fund and into a new SMSF where it suspects you'd end up worse off.
New funds would also have to disclose which financial adviser set them up and what they were paid, with advice fees appearing as their own line item in the fund's annual statements.
On cost: the annual fee every SMSF pays the ATO rises from $259 to $295 — its first increase since 2013 — and new funds would pay it upfront when the fund opens rather than later at tax time.
One thing worth being clear about: none of this is law. It's a proposal, and it goes through consultation before anything is legislated. But the direction is not ambiguous.
If you already have an SMSF, expect more paperwork and a slightly higher annual bill. If you've been considering one, it's about to get harder and more expensive to set up. Either way, we're happy to talk it through.
This is general advice only and doesn't take your circumstances into account — please see the final slide.
