The Australian Tax Office has provided guidance on how self-managed superannuation funds might be affected by the Protecting Your Super reforms.
The ATO confirmed to SMSF investors that the raft of changes - introduced as part of the Protecting Your Super Package - designed to protect the erosion of superannuation savings from fees and unnecessary insurance would not require SMSFs to make additional reports to the ATO.
SMSFs and small APRA funds are exempt from report and paying inactive low-balance accounts to the ATO as a new category of unclaimed super money in the same manner as larger funds.
However, the ATO will now be able to proactively consolidate eligible unclaimed super money into eligible active super accounts - including SMSFs and small APRA funds - if an individual hasn't requested a direct payment or for it to be rolled over to a fund of their choice.
The ATO said it would begin proactive consolidation from November and notify individuals once their unclaimed super had been consolidated.
Separately, the tax office released data last week which revealed the number of SMSF wind-ups shot up over the last two years, with more than 20,000 SMSFs culled.