Regulation of fundsVersion: 7.4.12

Which super funds does APRA regulate?

APRA regulates those funds that have chosen to be regulated by APRA.

An APRA fund must have a Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE) licence. A full list of all RSE licensees can he found here.

APRA-regulated funds may contact APRA through either their responsible supervisor or APRA's contact centre on 1300 13 10 60.

Which super funds does the ATO regulate?

The ATO regulates SMSFs.

In general, an SMSF (other than a single member fund) is one where:

  • Prior to 1 July 2021 - there were no more than four members
  • On or after 1 July 2021 - there are no more than six members
  • all members are trustees or directors of the trustee company
  • there are no trustees or directors who are not members
  • there are no members who are employees of other members (unless they are relatives)
  • no trustee of the fund receives any remuneration for their services as trustee.

A single member fund with a corporate trustee is an SMSF if:

  • no trustee of the fund receives any remuneration for their services as trustee
  • the member is:
    • the sole director of the company
    • one of only two directors where the other director is a relative, or
    • one of only two directors and not an employee of the other director.

A single member fund without a corporate trustee is an SMSF if:

  • no trustee of the fund receives any remuneration for their services as trustee
  • the member is one of only two individual trustees and the other trustee is:
    • a relative, or
    • not an employee of the member.

What is a non-regulated fund?

A super fund is a non-regulated fund if it has not made an election to be regulated by either APRA or the ATO.

A non-regulated fund cannot be a complying fund unless it is exempt from regulation.

Some public sector super schemes are exempt from regulation under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 External site.

Why are some super funds exempt from regulation?

Some public sector super schemes are exempt from regulation under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 External site. These schemes are known as exempt public sector super schemes. Exempt public sector super schemes are instead subject to government supervision (that is, the Australian Government, or a state or territory government) in accordance with the principles of the SISA.

An exempt public sector super scheme is a complying super fund.

What is a Retirement Savings Account (RSA)?

An RSA is an account offered by an Approved Deposit-taking Institution (ADI). An ADI can be a bank, a building society, a credit union or a prescribed financial institution.

An RSA can legally accept a transfer of funds from a super fund. An RSA is also subject to the same laws as a super fund. However, as an RSA is only an account held by an ADI, it cannot have an ABN in its own right. Therefore, an RSA will not appear on ABN Lookup or on Super Fund Lookup.

On the other hand, an ADI that provides an RSA must have an ABN. Therefore, the ADI will appear on ABN Lookup but not Super Fund Lookup. Visit APRA for a list of ADIs offering RSA accounts External site

Any queries should be made with reference to the ABN of the ADI holding the RSA account.

Top