How much does SMSF Australia charge for annual SMSF accounting?

SMSF Australia offers three fixed-fee annual packages: Basic Fund at $1,300+GST (listed shares, managed funds, ETFs, term deposits), Complex Fund at $1,600+GST (adds direct property up to 2, cryptocurrency, precious metals), and Very Complex Fund from $2,000+GST (unlisted assets, private loans, derivatives, NFTs, 3+ properties). All packages include the independent SMSF audit at no additional cost.

Is the SMSF audit included in the annual fee?

Yes. The independent SMSF audit is included in all three annual fee packages — Basic, Complex, and Very Complex. It is not charged as a separate add-on.

Can SMSF Australia service my fund if I am not in the same state?

Yes. SMSF Australia operates nationally across all Australian states and territories. All client meetings and services are conducted via Zoom — there is no requirement to be near a physical office.

How much does it cost to set up an SMSF with SMSF Australia?

The SMSF setup fee is $2,000+GST, which covers corporate trustee establishment (ASIC fee $636), SMSF trust deed ($400), Class Super first-year licence ($250), ABN and TFN applications, investment strategy preparation, and rollover coordination.

Does SMSF Australia provide financial advice?

No. SMSF Australia does not provide financial planning or investment advice. Services are limited to SMSF accounting, tax, audit, compliance, and legal matters.

What does PayDay Super mean for my SMSF?

From 1 July 2026, employers must pay superannuation guarantee contributions (SG) and wages and salaries at the same time. All employers paying SG are subject to the new payday super rules.

The Superannuation Guarantee has been in place for many years, and the current rate is 12%, with some employers paying higher rates under specific awards or enterprise agreements. Under the old rules, in place up to 30 June 2026, an employer was required to pay SG by the 28th of the month following each quarter. For example, contributions for the September quarter were due on 28 October.

The new payday rules mean that SG payments must be deposited into a member’s self-managed super fund (SMSF) within 7 business days of the wage payday, allowing time for clearing houses to transfer super to the member’s SMSF.

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCHP) will cease on 1 July 2026, affecting small employers who used it as their superannuation clearing house. Those affected employers have to appoint a new clearing house provider before 30 June. Employees are not affected and do not need to change their electronic service address (ESA).

What does PayDay Super mean for an SMSF member?

Easier to match your super with salary or wages, and your money can start working for you sooner. Mistakes can be picked up sooner and corrected. Underpayments are less likely, and instances of employers not paying super can be detected and action taken immediately.

Summary of Payday Super for SMSFs

Under the payday super rules, employers generate wage and SG data from their payroll systems, transfer contributions data electronically via SuperStream, and make payments generally via the new Payments Platform (NPP)-enabled account. NPP means the account can make payments via Osko, PayID, or PayTo, enabling real-time cash transfers between accounts. Most banks allow these types of payments.

SG is calculated by your employer based on 12% of qualifying earnings (QE), which include ordinary time earnings (OTE)- excludes overtime payments and some fringe benefits, and includes wages, bonuses and commissions, paid leave, allowances and salary sacrifice superannuation.
SG payments are made to SMSFs via SuperStream, typically using a superannuation clearing house or can be made directly to an SMSF if there is a related party relationship between the employer and SMSF member.
The payment must be received by the SMSF within 7 business days after payday.
An SMSF must allocate or return the SG within 3 business days of receipt, which now brings SMSFs in line with APRA-regulated funds.

What can my SMSF do to prepare for PayDay Super?

All employers, including related-party employers, are subject to the 7-day turnaround rule for paying SG contributions to an SMSF and for the SMSF’s receipt of those contributions.

An SMSF should ensure the following by 1 July 2026:

Electronic Service Address (ESA) – an SMSF must have an active, valid ESA. Recently, Australia Post and SuperChoice closed their ESA. SMSF Australia uses “smsfdataflow,” which is accessible through our administration services via Class superannuation software. Your employer may have the incorrect ESA if you have recently changed your SMSF accountant or used “AUSPOSTSMSF” which is not deprecated.
Lodge annual returns on time – being late means your fund’s details may be removed from Super Fund Lookup , resulting in your employer being unable to make SG payments to your SMSF, as employers verify the fund’s compliance status before making contributions. The fund’s compliance status is not automatically updated when the fund’s outstanding annual return is lodged.
SMSFs must have an NPP-enabled cash account to receive SG contributions – ensure cash accounts through a platform or wrap account are NPP-enabled.
Confirm that the employers of your SMSF members have the correct details of the fund and members, including the fund’s ABN and name, members’ TFNs and other details, the fund’s ESA and bank account details.
Check that the fund’s records agree with the ATO records – particularly important if a member has just got married and changed their name, and the ATO has the correct bank account details aligned with the account to which SG contributions will be made.

Hint – Some payroll systems automatically ask for a unique superannuation identifier (USI). SMSFs don’t have to provide a USI and are not entitled to one if requested.

The impact of late lodgement of the SMSF annual return

The messaging system used via SuperStream advises employers and clearing houses that a payment is rejected when the fund’s regulation details via Super Fund Lookup do not show the status as either “Complying” or “Registered”. When a fund’s annual return is more than two weeks overdue, the regulation details are removed on the first business day of the following month. For example, if an SMSF has not lodged its 2024/25 annual SMSF tax return by 31 May 2026 (it was due on 15 May 2026), its regulation details are removed on 1 June 2026 and will not be updated until the fund lodges the outstanding annual return and the ATO updates its records, generally, on the first business day after the 1st and the 15th of the month.

The employer can pay the contribution to either another fund chosen by the employee or to the employer’s default fund, thereby extending the SG payment from 7 to 20 days after the employee’s payday, but this is still a tight turnaround for employers to avoid penalties.

Automation is key to streamlining PayDay Super

Data feeds to SMSF bank accounts and the automatic allocation of contributions to SMSF members are crucial to Payday Super’s operation. When using Class software, employer contributions received via SuperStream are automatically loaded, matched to bank transactions, and allocated to member accounts, provided the SMSF uses “smsfdataflow” as the fund’s ESA.

Class software includes rules to automatically allocate SG contributions to members if SuperStream is not used.

Does your SMSF-specialised superannuation software support Member Verification Requests (MVR)?

SMSF Australia uses Class Super software, which supports MVR.

Employers are required to use MVR from 1 July 2026. MVR allows employers to check whether the contribution for their employee is being made to a particular SMSF, it is made to an active account and whether the fund can accept the contribution.

An MVR is mandatory when an employee contributes to a super fund for the first time, and can include:

A new employee advises their employer of their chosen super fund, or an existing employee changes their super fund.
An employer must contribute to a stapled account provided by the ATO.
A contribution is rejected as it is made to an incorrect account, and corrected details are updated.

Where an employee chooses the employer’s default fund, an MVR is not required.

When is the Super Guarantee payment for the June 2026 quarter due?

The SG payment for the June 2025/26 quarter is due by 28 July 2026. SG paid in relation to ordinary earnings made after 30 June 2026 are subject to the new payday rules.

A crucial consideration for employers is whether to pay their employees’ SG for the June quarter by 30 June 2026. See below for further discussions.

Consider deferring contribution allocation (also known as a contribution-reserving strategy) in certain circumstances, allocating June contributions to July to avoid exceeding the concessional contributions cap.

Could I be at risk of exceeding my concessional contributions cap?

With the introduction of the payday super rules in the 2026/27 financial year, there is a risk of exceeding your concessional contributions cap. You could unexpectedly exceed your cap if your quarterly June 2026 SG is paid in July 2026, plus your SG from payday super contributions. The government has indicated its intention to put in place transitional rules to avoid excesses in 2026/27, where this may occur. However, the government also needs to consider transitional rules for employers who pay the member’s June quarterly SG by 30 June 2026 to align with the new payday rules in 2026/27, which could result in you exceeding your cap in the 2025/26 year.

Example of exceeding cap if no transitional regulations are put in place: Fred is employed by BHP, and during the 2025/26 financial year, his SMSF is expected to receive $30,000 in SG contributions ($7,500 per quarter, being the June quarter 4 relating to 2024/25 paid 28 July 2025 and quarters 1, 2 & 3 for 2025/26). Under the new payday rules, his super will be paid at the same time as his salary. Fred’s employer decides to pay his June quarter 4 SG relating to 2025/26 before 30 June 2026, so they align his SG payments from 1 July 2026 with the new payday rules. Fred will have excess concessional contributions of $7,500 in the 2025/26 year unless the government puts in a transitional rule to avoid this.

Does my family business have to pay my SG on payday?

Family businesses or related party employers are not required to use SuperStream to make SG or other superannuation contributions on behalf of related party employees. However, related party employers are obliged to pay SG on payday. They can elect to use SuperStream or make a direct contribution via electronic funds transfer or other method, such as BPAY, to the member’s SMSF bank account.

How can I avoid exceeding my concessional cap when I earn over $270,830 per annum?

Your employer is not required to pay SG when your maximum contribution base (MCB) exceeds the upper limit for a financial year. For 2026/27, the annual base is $270,830. The ATO can provide a person with multiple employers with an SG shortfall exemption certificate if they are likely to exceed their MCB. The MCB is currently calculated quarterly but will move to an indexed annual threshold from 2026/27 onwards.

When can an extension to pay SG within 7 days be granted?

An employer has 20 business days to make SG contributions for the first payday when onboarding a new employee or when an existing employee changes funds.
Out-of-cycle payments – wages paid outside the usual cycle. For example, Andrea receives a performance bonus on 1 August 2026. Her usual payment cycle is monthly, with payday occurring on 14 August 2026. Her employer can pay SG based on her bonus by 25 August, which is within 7 business days of her usual monthly payday.
In cases like fire or flood impacting multiple employers, they have 20 business days to pay SG from either the usual payday or the ATO’s determination date, whichever comes later.

Key Takeaways

Ensure your SMSF has an active ESA
Ensure the fund’s administrator updates your fund’s transactions regularly, and not only at year-end
Review if concessional contributions may exceed the cap for 2025/26 or 2026/27 as a result of the payday rule changes
Automation of bank feeds is crucial
Lodge SMSF annual returns on time
ATO details, fund details and employer details should match
Check the fund’s bank account is NPP enabled
Does the fund’s super software support MVR?
Does the fund’s super software automatically allocate SG contributions?