Key win on temporary resident arrangements

Superannuation funds will no longer need to provide exit statements to temporary residents of Australia whose superannuation benefits have been transferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Under the Corporations Act, super funds are required to track down temporary residents of Australia to provide them with exit statements when their benefits are withdrawn from the fund and transferred to the ATO. But on Friday the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) provided super funds with relief from this requirement, saying funds need only provide information to temporary residents within their annual reports, product disclosure statements and on their websites.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has undertaken substantial lobbying on behalf of its members to secure this relief. ASFA chief executive Pauline Vamos said the measure allows the account balances of departed temporary residents to be treated as unclaimed, meaning the same provisions that are in place for other unclaimed super monies can apply.

Vamos said super fund members would benefit from a reduction in administration costs, particularly those members in funds with higher numbers of temporary residents, such as those servicing industries including hospitality and nursing.

Super fund trustees must advise in their product disclosure statements, annual report and prominently on their website the circumstances in which temporary residents' super interests will be transferred to the ATO. They must also indicate in these documents that they are relying on the relief and will not provide temporary residents with an exit statement, a statement from ASFA said.

Under the conditions of the relief, where a super fund member contacts a fund after their interest has been transferred to the ATO, the trustee must provide the person with information about the payment that will allow them to apply to the ATO to claim their interest.