Major superannuation funds will be subjecting transfers to self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) to higher levels of scrutiny and checking, following new processes suggested by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to help thwart illegal early releases.

APRA has signalled it will be writing to all superannuation fund trustees, providing them with guidance about the additional processes they should consider implementing to help verify the validity of transfer and rollover requests into SMSFs.

APRA said it had been working with the Australian Taxation Office to address concerns about the increasing prevalence of illegal early release of superannuation.

It said that it was doing so in circumstances where SMSFs were being used as a device to allow money to leave the superannuation system illegally.

APRA claimed there were two types of illegal early release schemes: one involving the fraudulent use of a member’s identification by an unrelated party to steam the member’s benefits without their knowledge or consent, and the other where a member participated with a promoter to access the member’s benefits.

It said that, to date, evidence indicated that the schemes preyed mostly on people from non-English speaking backgrounds, as well as others who had a limited understanding of the superannuation system or were under financial distress.