SMSF trustees must appoint an approved SMSF auditor no later than 45 days before their SMSF annual return (SAR) is due. For funds required to lodge by the 31st of October, meaning newly registered funds and those with an overdue prior year return, that 45 day rule pushes the practical auditor appointment deadline back into mid-September.
Why does the SMSF audit deadline effectively land in September?
The ATO requires every SMSF to appoint an approved auditor ‘no later than 45 days before you need to lodge your SMSF annual return’, and the audit must be finished before the SAR is lodged. Counting back 45 days from a 31st of October lodgment deadline lands on the 16th of September, so trustees and administrators working to that October date need the auditor engaged, and the fund’s financials ready for them, by mid-September, not left until the final weeks of October.
Which SMSFs actually have to lodge by the 31st of October?
The ATO applies the 31st of October to newly registered funds lodging their own SAR, and to any fund with SARs for prior years still outstanding. Most other self-lodging trustees have until the 28th of February, and funds lodged through a registered tax agent generally follow a due date the agent confirms. The exception is where the ATO has flagged the fund for review at registration, in which case the 31st of October applies even through a tax agent.
Why can’t the audit happen after the return is lodged?
Because the SAR itself depends on the audit. The auditor’s report has to be finalised before the return is lodged, since the trustee needs information from that report to complete the regulatory sections of the SAR, and the fund isn’t permitted to lodge until the audit is done. There’s no sequence where the return goes in first and the audit follows.
What does the trustee need to hand the auditor, and when?
Before the auditor can start, the trustee must provide a statement of financial position and an operating statement for the previous financial year. If the auditor requests more information during the audit, the trustee has 14 days to provide it. An audit is required every year regardless of whether the fund made any contributions or payments at all.
What happens if lodgment slips past the deadline?
The consequences move quickly from administrative to financial. An overdue SAR can see the fund’s Super Fund Lookup status changed to ‘regulation details removed’, which can block the fund from receiving rollovers and employer contributions. Penalties can also be applied, and the fund risks losing its SMSF tax concessions altogether, all tracing back to a lodgment that couldn’t happen because the audit wasn’t finished in time.
Does the supervisory levy add to the pressure?
Every SAR includes payment of the annual SMSF supervisory levy, $259 for a continuing fund, or $518 for a newly registered fund, which covers both the current and next financial year. It’s paid alongside the return, so a delayed audit doesn’t just delay the compliance sign-off; it delays this payment too.
How does BrightWorkpapers compare with tracking SMSF audit readiness on a spreadsheet against a 45-day countdown?
A spreadsheet can hold a due date, but it can’t show an administrator whether a specific fund’s financials are actually ready to send to the auditor 45 days out. BrightWorkpapers’ SMSF dashboard gives real-time visibility of every fund’s status, whether that’s in progress, ready for review, or completed, with pre-built SMSF compliance checklists and workpapers, and trial balance data synced directly from Class or BGL, so firms can see which funds are tracking behind the September cut-off while there’s still time to act.
Don’t find out a fund is behind after the 16th of September has passed. Book a Demo of BrightWorkpapers SMSF.
