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Frequently Asked Questions

Joining

How do I join?

To join the Annual Update Service, please complete either:

Unless the special 'time-saving tip' in the above form applies, we need to see at least the operative (ie, most recent) trust deed. It is also ideal if we can see copies of any prior documents. Please mail or email (ie, do not fax) these documents. We consider this review of prior documentation to be an important step in ensuring maximum legal peace of mind. Find out more.

So, to join, I have to send in prior deeds. What if DBA Lawyers drafted my last deed?

If DBA Lawyers drafted the SMSF's most recent deed within the past five years, you don't need to send any deeds into us to join. However, we will ask you to:

provide the reference number on the front cover of the deed (eg, 1111:051111) and
warrant that no changes in name, trusteeship, membership, addresses, etc, have since occurred.

Why review the full document trail before placing SMSFs on the Annual Update Service?

This ensures that the trustee does in fact have authority to adopt changes to the new rules, that the correct parties are involved, etc. For example, if a purported 1995 change of trustee is not effective, there is little point in making resolutions for the purported new trustees. We seek to address these issues as best we can before placing SMSFs on the Annual Update Service.

If requested, we can proceed without seeing a full document trail, but we strongly recommend that we perform this task.

How the Annual Update Service operates

Why is trustee/member sign-off so important?

For each annual update to become effective, the trustees and members must sign a brief document that we prepare for them. This is a crucial element of the Annual Update Service.

If trustees do not consider and sign-off each update, a court could well hold this to be a dereliction of a trustee's duty. Aggrieved parties (eg, a spouse upon divorce or a child upon death) could use the threat of possible dereliction of duty as leverage when bargaining.

Further, the PDS rules require ongoing disclosure of information where there is a material change (eg, governing rules updated). SMSFs are exempt from this where members have available to them all relevant information, however, without member sign-off, proving that members did indeed have this information is difficult.

Trustee/member sign-off provides solid written evidence to help rebut any such claims and gives trustees and advisers peace of mind.

Why only annual updates? Why not quarterly or monthly?

Annual updates achieve the right balance between administrative efficiency for advisers and cutting-edge rules:

Administrative efficiency — we could easily update the governing rules every quarter or month. However, each update must be signed off by trustees and members (see above). If advisers needed to arrange printing, execution and storage of resolutions every quarter or month, this would be a huge administrative burden. Further, annual updates mean advisers only have to review changes to rules once per year, not 4 to 12 times per year.
Cutting-edge rules — an annual update means that SMSFs will expressly comply with the latest laws, have express powers to engage in strategies, etc, on a timely basis. Some have expressed concerns that, if a legislative change occurs soon after an annual update, the change won’t be reflected in the governing rules for almost 12 months. This is not an issue for two reasons.
- Firstly, the governing rules are drafted such that they include ‘catch all’ (deeming) provisions to incorporate any changes not foreseeable at the time of drafting.
- Secondly, in the unlikely even that a change is not covered by the ‘catch all’ provisions, we will issue an immediate ad hoc update.

Why update governing rules annually? Why not every five years?

For funds that are completely ‘vanilla’ (eg, accumulation mode, etc), ad hoc updates only every five years are generally sufficient.

However, ad hoc updates involve administrative burden for advisers (eg, filling in forms, tracking down the full document trail, photocopying deeds, couriering to lawyers, etc). Accordingly, many funds intending to update every five years end up going 10 to 15 years between updates! This places the trustees and advisers at risk.

The Annual Update Service is ideal for advisers who wish to keep their SMSF clients up to date and compliant with the latest superannuation laws, without the administrative burden of ad hoc updates.

Resubscription and fees

When does my subscription finish?

Every subscription to the Annual Update Service finishes on 1 July. You and/or your adviser will be sent a reminder email with an invoice.

If I joined in say June, will still need to resubscribe in July?

Yes. Every subscription to the Annual Update Service finishes on 1 July. Your joining fee includes a subscription to the Annual Update Service until the next 1 July regardless of whether that is, say, 10 months away or 10 days away.

Some people wait until just after 1 July to join, thereby maximising the amount of the subscription they receive as part of the joining fee.

Do I have to resubscribe every year?

No. However, part of your subscription fee includes the service whereby we provide you with access to your SMSF's personalised home page. If your subscription lapses, you will be unable to access this page and thus will be unable to access your governing rules etc. If you wish to stop subscribing, we recommend that you ensure that you have downloaded the relevant files before your subscription lapses.

If my subscription has lapsed, how do I resubscribe?

Either:

My subscription lapsed more than 12 months ago. To resubscribe do I need to pay for all of the intervening years?

Yes. Alternatively, you may wish to simply join as a 'fresh' subscriber if you decide that the initial joining fee is cheaper than the total of the invoices from the intervening years.

DBA Lawyers

What is DBA Lawyers?

DBA Lawyers is a leading SMSF law firm, headed by Daniel Butler, who is widely recognised as Australia's leading SMSF lawyer.

Who drafts the documentation for the Annual Update Service?

DBA Lawyers drafts all of the documentation for the Annual Updates Service. This includes the governing rules, the PDS materials and trustee resolutions. DBA Lawyers' governing rules are generally recognised as the most flexible, up to date, and legally solid in Australia.