Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Hansard source

After listening to the member for Dunkley's submission on the amendments, I regret to advise him that I am still not persuaded of the merit of his case. Just to assist the House as to the reason why the government, upon consideration, is not supporting these amendments: the member for Dunkley said that the government should not cherry-pick the Cooper review. We would say that this is good advice for the opposition, too. The Cooper review recommends precisely the position we are putting. It does not recommend the position being put by the opposition.

We agree with the Cooper review in this context on this matter. We believe that SMSF auditors play a crucial role in regulating the SMSF sector and ensuring that members' savings are adequately protected. The SMSF sector is rapidly growing and it is diverse. There are 478,000 SMSFs approximately, and there are about 30,000 new self-managed superannuation funds established each year. These funds hold about one-third of all superannuation assets—over $400 billion out of total superannuation assets of $1.4 trillion. What we are seeking to do, as opposed to the amendments, is make sure that auditors are appropriately qualified and competent to detect and report contraventions of superannuation law.

Industry consultation, which has been a mark of what this government does in superannuation, on these amendments reveals widespread support from the accounting and superannuation industry. No less an organisation than the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia stated in their press release on 23 June 2012 that these amendments will 'be in the best interests of the Australian community,' including SMSF members, and that auditor registration 'will assist in raising the bar in SMSF audit quality in Australia'. Auditor registration will help improve the integrity of the rapidly growing SMSF sector and ensure that the sector can continue to thrive.

SMSF members rely on a range of experts to assist them to build their savings and ensure that they are complying with superannuation laws. We want SMSF members to be confident that their auditor is competent and able to effectively advise them in relation to the running of their SMSF. This is why we cannot support the opposition's amendments, because auditor registration will improve outcomes for self-managed superannuation fund members in Australia and is consistent with this government's pro-superannuation policies which include not only this measure but lifting superannuation from nine per cent to 12 per cent, which was opposed by those opposite, and abolishing the discrimination against employees over 70 who are not receiving superannuation—indeed, we are abolishing the 15 per cent tax paid on superannuation contributions by people who earn less than $37,000 a year.

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