Who Can be a Trustee

The definition of a self managed superannuation fund is one with less than 5 members where all members are trustees and vice versa, although special rules apply to single member funds.

If there are two, three or four members in the fund, the members have two choices:

  1. The members can jointly be trustees (as individuals); or
  2. A company can be trustee, where all members are the directors.

Only fund members can be trustees or directors of the corporate trustee. If the members are not related, no member can be the employer of another member (but note that this has a very wide meaning).

If there is only one member of the fund, that same person cannot be the sole trustee. The member has three choices in terms of trusteeship:

  1. The first (and simplest) option is to have a corporate trustee, where the member is the only director; or
  2. The second is to have two individual trustees, where the member is one.
  3. The third option is a corporate trustee but with two directors, the member being one of them.

The second trustee or director can be anyone other than an unrelated person who is the employer of the member. For example, a relative, accountant, solicitor or financial planner can be the second trustee or director.

Trustees and directors of trustee companies must be at least 18 and never have had a conviction for dishonest behavior. Also, they cannot be a bankrupt or subject to a Part X arrangement, nor can they have received a civil penalty under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act.

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