CLIENT UPDATE 14 May 2010
Small Business Superannuation Clearing House The Government’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House for small businesses (Clearing House) has passed through Parliament. The Clearing House enables eligible small businesses (those with under 20 employees) to discharge their superannuation employer contribution obligations by paying their contributions into the Clearing House instead of into each superannuation fund and will be administered by Medicare Australia. Under the Clearing House: •
Eligible small businesses can register their employees' nominated superannuation fund details and superannuation contributions with the Clearing House for processing;
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Superannuation contributions paid electronically by eligible small businesses will be processed by the Clearing House, including distributing the superannuation contributions to relevant funds as registered by the employer;
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The obligation on the eligible small business to make superannuation contributions will be discharged when payment of the correct amount is made;
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The facility is free for eligible small businesses; and
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The clearing house will manage the eligible small businesses’ Choice of Fund obligations.
The Clearing House will go live on 1 July 2010. The commencement date for registration for the service has yet to be announced but is likely to be sometime this month. For more information about the registration of superannuation funds call Medicare Australia on 02 6198 4582.
Benefits for superannuation funds The benefits of the Clearing House for superannuation funds include: •
A free service that sends electronic payment information from employers;
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Access to detailed reports to help with reconciliations;
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Full reconciliation of deposits by the Clearing House before they are sent to the fund;
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Pre-population of fund bank account details to reduce keying errors;
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Ability to specify whether a member number is mandatory; and
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Ability to inform employers of basic rulings when selecting a fund for an employee.
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Medicare Australia is currently contacting large superannuation funds to provide access to the Clearing House. A document entitled Contribution Report Standards - version 1, designed to help superannuation funds integrate with the Clearing House and further information on the Clearing House for superannuation funds and employers is available at www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/super. Paul Cleary has considerable expertise in the provision of specialist ďŹ nancial services and would be pleased to offer strategic superannuation legal advice.
For more information, please contact: Paul Cleary Partner Insurance & Financial Services TurksLegal T: 02 8257 5760 M: 0407 052 170 paul.cleary@turkslegal.com.au
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