Originally published in "Australian Financial Review" - We outline the rules to follow when your DIY fund invests in areas that might be perfectly legal but are less common.

Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Superannuation Measures No. 1) Bill 2019 was passed by the Senate on Thursday 19 September. At long last, it allows certain people to opt out of receiving Superannuation Guarantee contributions.

Can an SMSF receive excess concessional contributions when a member has reached the $1.6m total super balance limit? SMSF Magazine featuring our own Meg Heffron explains the fine details.

With a new financial year upon us, you may be thinking about what contribution caps apply for the 2019/20 financial year.

With a new financial year almost upon us, it is time to make ourselves familiar with the various superannuation related thresholds applying for the 2019/20 financial year.

When the clearing house receives the money? Or when the respective superannuation funds receive the money from the clearing house?

While the rules surrounding excess contributions have remained relatively stable for some time now, the 1 July 2017 changes to non-concessional contribution limits for those with large superannuation balances have understandably muddied the waters.

Top of mind for many SMSF trustees – particularly retirees - is the upcoming Federal Election and the Australian Labor Party (ALP) policy on refunds of excess franking credits.

On the superannuation front (and for SMSFs in particular), the 2019-20 Federal Budget was distinctly quiet.

The 2019-20 Federal Budget confirmed the changes to contribution rules announced in the Treasurer’s Press Release on 1 April.

From 1 July 2017 it became much harder to build up more superannuation thanks to a tightening of the limits on contributions. The maximum “concessional contributions” reduced to $25,000 pa.

In the May 2018 Federal Budget, the Government announced plans to extend the ability for recent retires to make contributions to superannuation from 1 July 2019. This change has now been legislated.