The Assistant Treasurer has released exposure draft Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Amendment Regulations that amend the period in which self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditors are required to provide their audit report to SMSF trustees.

Currently, SMSF auditors are required to provide SMSF trustees with their audit report no later than the day before the SMSF trustees are required to lodge their annual return. They can be penalised for not providing the audit report within this period, regardless of the reasons for the delay.

The purpose of the proposed Regulations is to amend the SIS Regulations to ensure that SMSF auditors do not contravene the SIS Regulations if they cannot provide the audit report within the prescribed period due to certain circumstances beyond their control.

The proposed Regulations would provide that where:
• an SMSF does not appoint an auditor within the required timeframe, the prescribed period for the auditor to give their audit report is the period ending 30 days after the day they were appointed; and
• an auditor asks the SMSF trustees, in writing, for documents relating to the audit at least 21 days before they must give their audit report and the trustees do not give those documents at least seven days before the audit report is due, the prescribed period is the period ending seven days after the trustees give the information to the auditor.

The proposed Regulations would also provide that the prescribed period within which SMSF trustees must appoint an auditor is the period ending 31 days before the due date for lodgement of the SMSF annual return.

There would be no change to the prescribed periods for the provision of audit reports to public offer entities and other superannuation entities.