Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Deputy Commissioner, James O’Halloran, has warned that compensation payments from superannuation funds in the fallout of the Banking Royal Commission could have both tax and super implications.
At a presentation at KPMG’s quarterly superannuation sessions this week, O’Halloran said that the ATO was finalising its views on the implications of remediation, with targeted consultation to start shortly.
He said that there were various scenarios that had arisen in remediation talks from industry practices, which the Association of Super Funds of Australia (ASFA), the Financial Services Council (FSC) and KPMG were assisting the ATO to understand.
The ATO had so far received around 30 requests for advice from individuals, advisers and funds about their individual circumstances, which O’Halloran said had helped the organisation understand the various permutations that existed.
The Deputy Commissioner also said that it was working with other regulators on the remediation aspect: “Recognising the intersection with other regulatory requirements underpinning remediation, we’ve more recently engaged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to understand that framework and ensure we’re providing consistent guidance to industry.”
O’Halloran said that the ATO would publish its position on remediation implications across both tax and super once the consultation period was finished.
While the Liberal senator has accused super funds of locking everyday Australians out of the housing market, industry advocates say the Coalition’s policy would only push home ownership further out of reach.
Australia’s largest superannuation fund has confirmed all members who had funds stolen during the recent cyber fraud crime have been reimbursed.
As institutional investors grapple with shifting sentiment towards US equities and fresh uncertainty surrounding tariffs, Australia’s Aware Super is sticking to a disciplined, diversified playbook.
Market volatility continued to weigh on fund returns last month, with persistent uncertainty making it difficult to pinpoint how returns will fare in April.