ATO reporting requirements
During a self-managed super fund (SMSF) audit, you need to advise us if you believe a reportable contravention of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SISA) or the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (SISR):
- has occurred
- is occurring, or
- may occur.
You do this by lodging an Auditor/actuary contravention report (ACR) within 28 days of completing the audit.
Reportable contraventions
You must report contraventions resulting from an event. An event is an action or inaction by the trustees that may lead, or has led, to one or more contraventions.
Not all contraventions need to be reported. To work out the contraventions you must report, apply the reporting criteria provided in Completing the Auditor/actuary contravention report.
If you discover a matter that doesn't have to be reported but you believe the information will help us with our regulatory role, you can provide this information in the 'other regulatory information' section of the ACR.
Once we receive the ACR, we'll review the contravention and other information we hold to decide what further action we will take.
Lodging an ACR
You can lodge your ACRs electronically through Online services for business.
If you're unable to lodge online, for example if you are an actuary, you can order a paper form Auditor/actuary contravention report (NAT 11239) on the ATO Publication Ordering ServiceExternal Link.
Cancelling an ACR
When you have made a genuine error on a lodged ACR, you can request a cancellation of the ACR. Genuine errors include:
- lodging under the wrong fund ABN
- providing incorrect information about the contravention.
If the matter has been reported correctly but you've received new information, you should lodge a revised ACR. For a step-by-step guide, see How to complete the report.
We can only accept a cancellation request from the approved SMSF auditor who lodged the ACR.
To request a cancellation of a lodged ACR, you'll need to provide the following information to us in writing:
- self-managed super fund's ABN
- date the ACR was lodged and year of audit
- reasons the ACR needs to be cancelled.
You can also use the secure mail messaging service in Online services for business to request a cancellation.
We'll respond within 28 days.
Failure to lodge an ACR
If you fail to lodge an ACR as required, we can impose a penalty of 50 penalty units on you.
We can also apply penalties if you haven't informed us and a trustee about a matter which must be reported, but you tell another auditor you have.
Reporting requirements to trustees
If you have been appointed as an SMSF auditor, you must give the trustees an independent auditor's report (IAR) on the fund’s operations for the financial year.
You must tell the trustees in writing if you believe that a contravention of the SISA or the SISR:
- has occurred
- is occurring, or
- may occur.
You also need to advise trustees about whether the financial position of the fund is about to become unsatisfactory. You can do this by issuing a management letter to the trustee.
By notifying the trustees as soon as you identify a contravention, they can respond to the issue and, if possible, rectify, or have a plan in place to rectify, the issue before you finalise the audit.
Independent auditor's report
As an approved SMSF auditor, you are required to complete the audit and provide the audit report to the trustees within 28 days of receiving all relevant documentation.
If you request information relevant to the audit from the trustees, they must provide it to you within 14 days of your written request.
The independent auditor's report outlines:
- the SMSF trustees' responsibilities
- the auditor's responsibilities, consistent with the Australian Auditing StandardsExternal Link and Standards on Assurance EngagementsExternal Link
- your opinion on whether the financial report fairly represents the financial position of the fund and its operational results, in Part A: Financial audit of an SMSF
- your opinion on whether the trustees of the fund have complied with the listed provisions under the SISA and the SISR, in Part B: Compliance audit of an SMSF.
You must report using approved form Self-managed superannuation fund independent auditor's report (IAR) (NAT 11466-07.2019).
When is the financial position of the fund unsatisfactory?
If the SMSF is an accumulation fund, its financial position is unsatisfactory if, in the opinion of the auditor, either the:
- fund's assets are inadequate to cover the total of the benefit accounts of the fund members
- value of fund assets is inadequate to cover the value of the fund's liabilities in respect of benefits accrued to fund members.
If the SMSF is a defined benefit fund, the test is whether the value of fund assets is inadequate to cover the value of the fund's liabilities in respect of benefits vested in the fund members.