The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) established the Super Fund Lookup service to make it easier for the average Australian to access key information about various superannuation funds.
What is Super Fund Lookup for?
Super Fund Lookup can be used to:
- identify whether a fund is complying, non-complying or non-regulated
- identify whether a fund has ceased to operate
- access contact details for the fund
Not only does the service let you look up standard industry and retail super funds using either their ABN, ACN or name, it also functions as the ATO’s comprehensive register of Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs), along with their current compliance statuses.
Which super funds are listed by Super Fund Lookup?
According to the ATO, Super Fund Lookup contains information about funds that have an ABN, and/or are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
That being said, the Super Fund Lookup website notes some super funds may not have an ABN but be perfectly compliant nonetheless. It recommends if you can’t find a specific fund or confirm their compliance using the Super Lookup Service, you can ask the fund for their Notice of Compliance.
The following table contains details of the superannuation funds rated by Canstar based on someone aged 40-49. This table has been sorted by one-year performance (highest to lowest).
Please note that the performance information shown in the table is for the investment option used by Canstar in rating of the superannuation product.
How can I get my SMSF listed by Super Fund Lookup?
The ATO advises that you have 60 days to register a newly established SMSF with the ATO once all trustees have been appointed and signed the trustee declaration form.
You may need to check if your SMSF is eligible to register for an ABN and if so, you may then be able to register your SMSF and receive an ABN.
The ATO notes that when filling out your ABN application, you should:
- request a tax file number (TFN) for your fund
- ask that your fund be registered as an ATO-regulated SMSF – if approved, your fund will be eligible for tax concessions and its members will be able to claim tax deductions on contributions
- register for GST if necessary
It’s important that prior to registering for an ABN, you make sure your SMSF is properly set up and that the details of your fund’s members, trustees or directors are correct. The ATO notes that failing to do one or both of these steps is a common error found in SMSF registration applications.
More details on registering your SMSF can be found here.
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