From 1 July 2006 it will be an offence to act as a trustee of a registrable superannuation entity or to accept contributions to a fund without a Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE) licence.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has announced that existing superannuation trustees have until 17 February to apply for a RSE licence. This cut-off date for applications is to provide sufficient time for APRA to complete the licensing process and to register all funds by 30 June 2006 in accordance with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.

Of 317 applications received to date, more than 40 per cent were submitted after 1 December
2005. So far, 80 RSE licences have been issued.

Some 405 trustees that indicated their intention to exit the industry have done so and a further 450 are expected to do so by the end of the transition period.