Parliament has passed Bills introduced by the Gillard government to deliver a range of improvements to superannuation law.
The reforms included the delivery of superannuation capital gains tax relief (CGT) and measures that implemented the government's Stronger Super commitments to improve the efficiency of the nation's superannuation system.
The package of reforms implemented by the Superannuation Laws Amendment (Capital Gains Tax Relief and Other Efficiency Measures) Bill 2012 and the Superannuation Auditor Registration Imposition Bill 2012 were passed through parliament yesterday.
"The measures further build on the government's existing reforms to improve the efficiency and integrity of the superannuation system, which will increase the retirement outcomes for Australians," minister for financial services and superannuation, Bill Shorten said.
Schedule one of the Bill restored the temporary tax relief in the form of loss relief and asset rollover for mergers of superannuation funds, with some changes.
From 1 October 2011 to 1 July 2017, superannuation funds that merge can rollover unrealised gains or losses on revenue and capital assets, and allow the transfer of released revenue losses and capital losses.
The taxation relief removed certain tax impediments to superannuation funds merging to achieve efficiencies and cost reductions for members in response to the Stronger Super reforms, Mr Shorten said.
Schedule two of the Bill established a new registration regime for self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditors, commencing 31 January 2013.
The measure requires auditors to register with ASIC and satisfy a range of minimum standards.
"As part of SMSF auditor registration, all auditors of SMSFs will be required to meet initial and ongoing requirements relating to their qualifications, competency and independence," Mr Shorten said.
Further details of the registration regime, including transitional arrangements, were outlined in the regulations.
Schedule three of the Bill expanded the information required to be reported by superannuation providers in respect of their members, including statements for all members who held an interest in the fund at any time during the reporting period, not just those for whom contributions were received.
The measure would allow the ATO to display more comprehensive super information to individuals and facilitate consolidations within and between funds.
Schedule four of the Bill improved the quality of information in the super system and facilitated fully-effective electronic processing of transactions.
"It has been estimated that the Australian superannuation industry processes more than 100 million transactions annually," Mr Shorten said.
"The potential gains to the system from the effective electronic processing of transactions in superannuation are significant."
Currently, poor member information quality led to difficulties in allocating contributions, unnecessary duplicate accounts and a large amount of lost and unclaimed super.
"It is estimated that the SuperStream proposals could save the industry and therefore, members of superannuation funds, up to $1 billion per year," Mr Shorten said.
"Much of the benefit of these savings should flow through to members in the form of over fees and charges."
