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Will appointing a new trustee solve the problem where the Commissioner has disqualified a SMSF trustee?
- 22 December 2025
- Superannuation
The Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) can disqualify a trustee or a director of a corporate trustee (DOACT) of a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) under Subdivision 3A – Disqualification by the Commissioner of Taxation) of Part 15 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act). While Subdivision 3A deals with disqualification by the Commissioner, Subdivision […]

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Should the Bendel UPEs be treated as disguised dividends?
- 30 October 2025
- Companies
The Commissioner of Taxation has been granted special leave to appeal against the Full Federal Court decision in FC of T v Bendel & Anor [2025] FCAFC 15. AAT error confirmed As I wrote in my earlier blog: Has the AAT in Bendel reset the treatment of UPEs from trusts as Division 7A deemed dividends? […]

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Control of a family discretionary trust and divorce
- 30 January 2025
- Trusts
The expectation is a husband (H) and a wife (W) in a marriage would both control a family discretionary trust (FDT) established for H and W and their family. This will usually be reflected in both H and W being joint appointors or principals under the trust deed of the FDT. But suppose the marriage […]

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Problems vaguely adding beneficiaries to a trust
- 17 December 2024
- Trusts
I admit to trepidation when I find a trust deed for a family discretionary trust (FDT) has a power allowing the trustee to add anyone as beneficiary of the trust – an add anyone power (AAOP). Why should this be of concern? The three certainties The essentials of a valid trust are certainty of: 1. […]

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Some warning about discretionary distribution of trust income to a deceased estate
- 31 October 2024
- Trusts
The principal and controller of a family discretionary trust (FDT) may have died. The trustee of the FDT (Trustee) may be inclined to distribute income of the trust at financial year end (ITFYE) to his or her deceased estate (DE) for two apparent reasons nevertheless: the Trustee may seek to broadly maintain, at least in […]

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Can or should a discretionary trust distribute to someone who has died?
- 31 July 2024
- Trusts
Gift icons created by Freepik – Flaticon These days trust deeds (Deeds) of family discretionary trusts (FDTs) frequently allow a trustee of a FDT to distribute to a trust as a beneficiary (TAAB) where the TAAB has a beneficiary or beneficiaries in common with the FDT. So could it be that, once a named beneficiary of […]

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Will appointing a new trustee solve the problem where the Commissioner has disqualified a SMSF trustee?

22 December 2025
Should the Bendel UPEs be treated as disguised dividends?

30 October 2025
Control of a family discretionary trust and divorce

30 January 2025
Problems vaguely adding beneficiaries to a trust

17 December 2024
Some warning about discretionary distribution of trust income to a deceased estate

31 October 2024
Can or should a discretionary trust distribute to someone who has died?

31 July 2024