It’s not just Div 296 that could face changes in 2026

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With the objective of superannuation now firmly in place and a new draft of the Division 296 legislation out for consultation, it may seem there is little left to anticipate in the SMSF sector in 2026.

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However, Tim Miller, head of education and technical for Smarter SMSF, said that is not necessarily the case.
 
“We entered a Labor government one term ago, and they said no changes to superannuation and then immediately dived into the introduction of Div 296 in its first form. Then the objective of super, of course, with an introductory date of post the election cycle was [also introduced],” Miller said.
 
“We’re now into this second cycle and there’s a bit of intrigue about what other measures might we see from the Labor government. There are a couple of things we have spoken about such as the redefining of Australian super funds to assist self-managed super funds satisfy that requirement where we’ve got people overseas.
 
“Another measure that had been spoken about by both the current government and the former government is in regards to changes around conditions of release and access to super and really touching on illegal early access, as well as when super should be the first port of call in certain circumstances.”
 
Aaron Dunn, director of Smarter SMSF, added the issue of financial abuse is also potentially an area that could be subject to more government regulations.
 
“We’ve seen a parliamentary joint committee undertake an inquiry around that and look at ways in which the rules might need to be tightened or adjusted to accommodate for those circumstances,” Dunn said.
 
“SMSFs were certainly a part of that, where you had controlling behaviours within the trusteeship of the fund, and the ability of the abused individual to potentially exit, and then get their superannuation monies. I think the other issue that is a bit of a free hit, in some respects, is around the adjustments we might see for compassionate grounds, and in particular the way in which it’s currently being used, seems to be beyond the scope or intent of what it was initially.”
 
Miller said in regard to this issue, reports are generally around medical conditions and cosmetic procedures with less focus on compassionate grounds such as funeral expenses and home modifications.
 
“It’s clearly where you’ve got individuals who have a vested interest in getting access to the money making the decisions about accessing it, and it’s always a key issue. Of course, with compassionate grounds, appreciating that the regulator is the one that makes a decision,” he said.
 
“One of the areas around conditions of release was how much power should be handed over to the regulator, and whether things like financial hardship should move from a trustee decision to a regulatory decision as well. It will be interesting to see if there is any movement at all in that space during this year, but also during this parliamentary term.”
 
Dunn continued that the area of investments, especially following the Dixon and First Guardian inquiries, could also instigate some changes in the next year.
 
“What’s been quite interesting in the last few months is the fact that we’ve seen this concept being floated predominantly through the media that is code for ‘let’s get that fed in and test the waters’ around whether SMSF will have any further levies imposed on them to help deal with compensation,” he said.
 
“We’re talking specifically about the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort and to me  that’s definitely going to be an interesting one to watch this year. The way in which the compensation scheme is currently being funded is massively disjointed and unfair in the context of how much advisers are having to pay based upon the quantums of money that are involved around compensation.
 
“But it’s an interesting setting that the Labor Party is trying to establish by bringing SMSF trustees, in essence, into this to say, ‘well, actually, now you guys can pay your share as well’.”
 
 
 
 
Keeli Cambourne
January 12, 2026
smsfadviser.com

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