It has certainly been a year of two halves for the SMSF sector… Up until the Federal election in May, the focus of the SMSF industry was around the potential impact of Labor’s proposed super measures, in particular the inequitable reforms to franking credits which specifically targeted SMSFs.

With Labor snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, we moved into the second half of the year with a Coalition Government having promised very little change within the superannuation sector. With much of the focus remaining on the outcomes of the Royal Commission and more recently the terms of reference being set for the Retirement Income Review, there has been very little movement on many of the superannuation measures announced in the Federal Budget in April this year.

Outstanding Legislation / Measures

As we reach the end of the 2019 calendar year, there are a range of measures that are outstanding that impact the SMSF sector:

Item	Status
One-off SG Amnesty for employers to correct historical super guarantee non-compliance	Treasury Laws Amendment (Recovering Unpaid Superannuation) Bill 2019 currently before the Senate (introduced 2 December 2019).
Correcting debit value on commutation of a Market Linked Pension as a CDBIS. Rollover of super death benefits (15% tax on untaxed element upon rollover)	Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No. 3) Bill 2019 was introduced into Parliament on 5 December 2019 – currently before the House of Representatives.
Allowing voluntary contributions (both CCs & NCCs) to be made for people 65 & 66 years without having to meet the ‘work test’ Also extends to the bring-forward rule for NCCs where member meets relevant TSB requirements. Extending ability for spouse contributions up to age 74	Announced in the 2019-20 Federal Budget (held on 2 April 2019) with measures to start on 1 July 2020; at this stage no draft legislation has been issued.
Streamlining the administrative requirements for the calculation of ECPI.	Announced in the 2019-20 Federal Budget (held on 2 April 2019) with measures to start on 1 July 2020; at this stage no draft legislation has been issued.
Increase of SMSF membership from 4 to 6	Previously introduced into Parliament as part of Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No.1) Bill 2019, however subsequently removed. Government made policy commitment as part of Federal election mandate, however no further legislation at this stage.
3-year SMSF Audit cycle	Following closure of the Treasury consultation on 31 August 2018, no draft legislation was issued for this proposal. It appears unlikely that the Government will revisit these measures.

Whilst we won’t be getting any answers from the Government around any of these measure for Christmas, let’s hope that as we move into 2020 that we get an update on many of these items early in the new year.