Super Alert – 18 September 2026: ACCC changes to merger control regime, Treasury amendment to accounting standard affecting super entities, Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026
Welcome to the weekly KHQ Super Alert. This week, the ACCC announced that changes to the merger control regime have come into effect. Treasury registered an amendment to an accounting standard affecting superannuation entities and repealed a number of legislative instruments, including a transitional instrument which provided for how financial firms, including superannuation providers, handled complaints. Also, the Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026 passed both houses of Parliament.
ACCC – Changes to merger control regime now in effect
On 16 September 2026, legislative amendments to Australia’s merger control regime came into effect. Schedule 4 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Act 2026 introduces a number of operational refinements to the new regime aimed at reducing legal uncertainty.
The key changes to the regime include:
- ‘making non-notified transactions that meet the thresholds voidable instead of automatically void’;
- ‘clarifying the control exemption’; and
- ‘introducing flexibility for approved notifications that take longer than expected to complete’.
The ACCC stated it will release guidance on the changes shortly.
Click here for details.
Treasury – Amendments to superannuation accounting standard registered
On 16 September 2026, Treasury registered the Accounting Standard AASB 2026-4 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards – Application of AASB 18 and AASB 107 by Superannuation and Not-for-Profit Entities and Operating Cash Flow Reconciliation.
The amendments to the accounting standard:
- ‘specify how AASB 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements and related amendments to AASB 107 Statement of Cash Flows are to be applied by superannuation entities and not-for-profit entities’; and
- ‘make amendments to AASB 1039 Concise Financial Reports and AASB 1054 Australian Additional Disclosures in respect of the starting point for the operating cash flow reconciliation’.
The amendments apply to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2028, although earlier application is permitted.
Click here and here for details.
Treasury – Repeal of ASIC Corporations, Credit and Superannuation (Internal Dispute Resolution—Transitional) Instrument 2019/965
On 14 September 2026, Treasury repealed ASIC Corporations, Credit and Superannuation (Internal Dispute Resolution—Transitional) Instrument 2019/965, along with nine other legislative instruments.
The Explanatory Statement for the repeal instrument states that the instruments are being repealed because they are ‘redundant in their operation and no longer serve a regulatory purpose’.
Click here and here for details.
Government – Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026 passes both houses
On 14 September 2026, the Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026 (Bill) passed both houses of Parliament.
Among other administrative and technical measures, the Bill:
- amends the operation of Compensation Scheme of Last Resort special levy determinations by reducing the effective waiting period from 15 sitting days to 5 sitting days; and
- repeals the Superannuation Benefits (Supervisory Mechanisms) Act 1990, which is now redundant due to the evolution of the superannuation landscape.
Click here for details.
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