Issue 843, 1 March 2022
In this issue:
DASP payment summaries: draft ATO instrument
The ATO has issued a draft legislative instrument proposing to remake an existing instrument regarding Departing Australia Superannuation Payments (DASPs) that is due to sunset (expire) on 1 April.
Taxation Administration Act 1953 – PAYG Withholding – Payment summary deferral – Employment termination and departing Australia superannuation payments, registered in 2012, sets 14 August as the date by which superannuation funds must provide copies of payment summaries for DASPs made in the prior financial year to the Commissioner of Taxation.
Once finalised, Draft Legislative Instrument LI 2022/D6 — Taxation Administration – Payment Summary Deferral: Employment Termination and Departing Australia Superannuation Payments Deferral 2022 will remake the lodgement deferral in the same terms and repeal the 2012 instrument.
LI 2022/D6 also proposes the same variation of date for lodgment of payment summaries in relation to employment termination payments.
The ATO is seeking feedback on the draft legislative instrument by close of business Monday 7 March.
Superannuation choice form: ATO questionnaire
The ATO has asked ASFA to bring to our members’ attention a review it is conducting of the superannuation choice form.
The ATO is seeking feedback from superannuation funds, employers and intermediaries in relation to the current choice form, in particular:
- whether employers have a good understanding of: when they need to offer a choice form, what they can and can’t do when offering a choice form, what their options are if their employee doesn’t fill out all the fields, where to find out what their obligations are regarding the form.
- whether employers give any instructions or additional information to employees about the choice form
- whether funds support/educate employers on the superannuation choice process
- the channels that employers and employees use to complete the choice form (paper, email, ATO Online or onboarding software)
- whether employers have made any changes to the choice form or process since the stapled superannuation reforms commenced on 1 November
- any feedback in relation to the readability or terminology used to describe superannuation fund information within the form (particularly ‘Section A, Item 3: nominating your APRA Fund or RSA’ and whether the ATO could improve the information available in relation to completing this item (that is, how members can find existing information about their current funds)
- any suggestions in relation to making the choice form easier to understand or complete, or in relation to the ATO’s information and guidance about the choice form
- other feedback on the superannuation choice process
The ATO is keen to hear from superannuation funds about their experience of employer behaviour in relation to the above matters. Responses should be sent directly to the ATO at FSEGovernance@ato.gov.au by close of business Monday 7 March.
Financial Regulator Assessment Authority review of ASIC: survey
As reported in ASFA Action issue 835, the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (FRAA) is currently undertaking its first review into the effectiveness and capacity of ASIC.
The FRAA has asked ASFA to provide the following information to our members regarding a survey it is conducting as part of the review:
The Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (FRAA) is an independent statutory body established by the Government in response to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Its role is to undertake regular reviews of ASIC and APRA to assess the effectiveness and capability of the two regulators.
The FRAA’s first review is of ASIC and covers ASIC’s effectiveness and capability, across three areas:
- Strategic prioritisation, planning and decision making
- Surveillance (a definition will be provided in the survey about the scope of surveillance activities in this review)
- Licensing
The FRAA will provide its report to the Minister by the end of July 2022 and it will be tabled in Parliament.
As part of the review, the FRAA is working with Boston Consulting Group to conduct a survey of relevant external stakeholders about their experiences with ASIC. The survey is a key input into the FRAA’s review of effectiveness and capability of ASIC. It is an opportunity for stakeholders to share their views and contribute to improving the effectiveness and capability of ASIC.
Survey responses will be anonymous, unless you nominate to provide your organisation’s name. We collect some demographic information (for example, relationship to ASIC), but will not report on any segments with less than five responses to ensure that no response is identifiable.
The survey will be open until 11 March 2022. You only need to complete the survey once.
You can access the survey through the link https://www.113.vovici.net/se/13B2588B33CC4852.
Some verbatim comments may be used in reports prepared for the FRAA and the Minister, which may be made publicly available.
We encourage you to participate and share your views. For any questions regarding the survey, please reach out to Sally Etherington from the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (FRAA@treasury.gov.au)
Improving cyber security resilience in light of the heightened threat environment
On 23 February 2022, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) released an alert in response to the heightened threat environment arising from the Russia/Ukraine conflict. In particular, the alert noted that:
Australian organisations are encouraged to urgently adopt an enhanced cyber security position. Organisations should act now and follow ACSC’s advice to improve their cyber security resilience in light of the heightened threat environment.
The ACSC has subsequently updated this alert with guidance regarding mitigating actions.
Outcomes assessment: APRA FAQs
APRA has published new and updated frequently asked questions (FAQs) in relation to the outcomes assessment for registrable superannuation entities (RSEs) under subsection 52(9) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.
The new and updated FAQs set out APRA’s expectation for RSE licensees to align their outcomes assessment and business performance review cycle. The appropriate alignment of the cycle is intended to ensure that an RSE licensee is using up-to-date assessments and optimising value from the process.
Superannuation Bills update
Several Bills relevant to superannuation received Royal Assent on 22 February, following their passage through Parliament earlier in the month:
- Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle Framework and Other Measures Act 2022
This Act implements the retirement income covenant – see ASFA Action issue 835 for background.
- Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Superannuation Outcomes for Australians and Helping Australian Businesses Invest) Act 2022
This Act implements several of the superannuation-related measures announced in the May 2021 Budget. See ASFA Action issue 831 for background.
- Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Act 2022
This Act makes permanent relief provided on a temporary basis, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing companies to use technology to meet certain requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 around meetings and documents. See ASFA Action issue 830 for background.
Family law superannuation splitting: valuation of particular super interests
The Attorney General has registered a legislative instrument dealing with the valuation of certain superannuation interests under the family law superannuation splitting regime, as a result of the merger between QSuper and Sunsuper. The instrument does not have any wider application to other superannuation interests.
The Family Law (Superannuation) (Methods and Factors for Valuing Particular Superannuation Interests) Amendment Approval 2022:
- reflect the upcoming changes to the trust structure, establishing legislation and trust deed of the State Public Sector Superannuation Scheme established by the Superannuation (State Public Sector) Act 1990 (Qld) (the Scheme) as a result of the merger between QSuper and Sunsuper on 28 February
- prescribe a specific method and factors for the valuation of interests in a new superannuation product, known as the QSuper Lifetime Pension, being offered by the Scheme.
The legislative instrument commenced on 28 February.
ASFA Best Practice Papers
From time to time, ASFA issues Best Practice Papers intended to provide superannuation funds and their service providers with information about a range of concepts, processes and methodologies to address relevant issues.
ASFA members can access the three current Best Practice Papers through the member-only section of the website:
- Best Practice Paper No 12 — Negotiating investment management agreements — updated September 2014; ASFA Template IMA updated January 2022
- Best Practice Paper No 31 — Planning for a possible pandemic — updated March 2020
- Best Practice Paper No 36 — Insourcing investment management — updated November 2016
ASFA would like to remind members that any Best Practice Papers that do not appear on the website are not considered current and should no longer be relied upon.
If you have any questions regarding ASFA’s Best Practice Papers, please contact Julia Stannard.
ASFA REGULATORY WATCHLIST
ASFA’s Regulatory Watchlist (ARW) tracks developments in Legislation, inquiries, consultations
and other regulatory announcements relevant to superannuation.
