Super Alert – 20 March 2026: ASIC launches new complaints data dashboard, Division 296 tax settings and LISTO changes released, Payday Super reforms

Welcome to the weekly KHQ Super Alert. This week ASIC launched a new public dashboard for consumer complaints data. Treasury commenced consultations on proposed changes to the education requirements for financial advisers and draft regulations to support changes to superannuation tax settings. The ATO published four draft law companion rulings relating to PayDay Super and two draft practice statement documents explaining how the ATO intends to administer certain penalties.

Legislation – Instrument extending relief for intra-fund superannuation transfers registered

On 18 March 2026, the ASIC Corporations (Intra-Fund Transfers) Instrument 2026/688 was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, extending existing ASIC relief from the usual application form and cooling-off period requirements under the Corporations Act when conducting intra-fund transfers. The extension of relief under the newly registered instrument will continue until 1 April 2031.

The instrument also repeals ASIC Corporations (Superannuation: Accrued Default Amount and Intra-Fund Transfers) Instrument 2016/64 as those relief provisions apply to MySuper products and are now redundant.

Click here for details.

Legislation – Instrument extending relief for generic financial calculator providers registered

On 18 March 2026, the ASIC Corporations (Generic Calculators) Instrument 2026/41 was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, extending existing ASIC relief for providers of generic financial calculators from the requirement to hold an AFSL with an advice authorisation.

The instrument will continue to provide relief for those providers who meet the various conditions of the instrument through reasonable steps, which remain unchanged from the previous ASIC Corporations (Generic Calculators) Instrument 2016/207.

The extension of relief under the newly registered instrument will continue until 1 April 2031.

Click here for details

ASIC – Financial complaints data dashboard launched

On 18 March 2026, ASIC launched its new interactive dashboard that promises to give ‘unprecedented access to consumer complaints data’. The Internal Dispute Resolution data dashboard ‘enables users to compare the complaints reported by individual financial firms for the first time, including their handling of complaints associated with specific products.’

The dashboard also includes the following features:

• ‘an overview of complaints volumes and trends over specified reporting periods’;
• ‘categorised breakdowns of complaints by issue and complaint outcome’;
• ‘complaints resolution times for individual financial firms’; and
• ‘information about monetary remedies paid.’

Click here for details.

ATO – Payday Super draft law companion rulings released for feedback

On 18 March 2026, the ATO released four draft law companion rulings for feedback, designed to outline how the new Payday Super rules will apply in practice.

The draft law companion rulings are:

• LCR 2026/DI Payday Super: qualifying earnings – ‘outlining what’s included in qualifying earnings, used to calculate the minimum super contribution required to avoid the super guarantee charge (SGC)’;
• LCR 2026/D2 Payday Super: eligible contributions – ‘the criteria for contributions to be considered eligible contributions, including the timeframes in which super funds must receive them’;
• LCR 2026/D3 Payday Super: calculation and assessment of the superannuation guarantee charge – explaining ‘how the new SGC will be calculated and assessed under the Payday Super framework’; and
• LCR 2026/D4 Payday Super: application and transitional provisions – detailing ‘how the new laws will apply from 1 July 2026 and the transitional provisions that apply under the law’.

The ATO is inviting feedback until 1 May 2026.

Click here for details.

Treasury – Consultation on regulations supporting amendments to superannuation tax settings released

On 17 March 2026, Treasury released an exposure draft version of the Income Tax Assessment (1997 Act) Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System and Other Measures) Regulations 2026, which are designed to support the introduction of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Act 2026 and the Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition Act 2026.

As noted in our Super Alert of 13 March 2026, those Acts update the thresholds for the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset and change the tax concession settings for large superannuation balances.

According to Treasury, the regulations inform the operation of the impending changes to the taxation of large balance tax concessions and will:

• ‘explain how super funds will attribute fund earnings to individuals’;
• ‘set out how to calculate earnings for defined benefit interests’;
• ‘specify the super interests that are excluded from the policy’;
• ‘explain how the tax applies in a person’s final year’; and
• ‘set the adjustment factors for capital gains tax for large super funds.’

The consultation period closes on 7 April 2026.

Click here for details.

Treasury – Consultation on education reforms for financial advisers

On 17 March 2026, Treasury released a consultation paper titled Education Reform for Financial Advisers. In an associated media release issued by the Hon Dr Daniel Mulino MP,

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Dr Mulino explained that these reforms are:

• designed to promote a ‘sustainable and flexible pathway for new advisers to enter the profession’;
• ‘ensure continuing robust professional standards for advisers, including requirements for completing a professional year, passing the financial adviser exam and maintaining continuing professional development’; and
• ‘will require prospective advisers to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. They will also need to meet minimum study requirements in relevant areas such as finance, economics or accounting, along with completing mandatory financial advice subjects covering ethics, legal and regulatory obligations, consumer behaviour and financial advice fundamentals’.

The proposed changes follow stakeholder feedback that the current regime contains high barriers to entry, an overly prescriptive curriculum and a high administrative burden.

The consultation period closes on 17 April 2026.

Click here and here for details.

ATO – Draft Practice Statement Law Administration items published for consultation

On 12 March 2026, the ATO released the following draft Practice Statement Law Administration documents for public consultation:

• PS LA 2026/D1 Administration of penalties for failure to comply with superannuation member account reporting obligations; and
• PS LA 2026/D2 Administration of penalties for failure to comply with Single Touch Payroll reporting obligations.

The purpose of these materials is to explain how the ATO intends to administer penalties that:

• ‘a super fund becomes liable to when they fail to comply with their reporting obligations through the member account attribute service and member account transaction service, including the remission of penalties where appropriate’; and
• ‘an entity becomes liable to when they fail to comply with their Single Touch Payroll reporting obligations accurately and on time, including the remission of penalties where appropriate’.

The consultation period closes on 24 April 2026 for both draft statements.

Click here and here for details.

Want KHQ Super Alerts delivered straight to your inbox each week? Click here to subscribe.