APRA releases package of superannuation reporting standards

15.08

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has today released 31 reporting standards for the superannuation industry. Of these, 26 are final reporting standards and five reporting standards are being released for consultation.

Between 2013 and 2015, APRA released a number of final reporting standards for superannuation. Since the release of those standards, APRA has continued to receive feedback from industry on a range of implementation issues, and there have also been a number of developments in the superannuation regulatory framework. As a result, over this time APRA has publicly released on its website 95 frequently asked questions (FAQs) with additional information relating to superannuation reporting.

The 26 final reporting standards released today incorporate minor changes from the material covered in these FAQs. These final standards commence on either 30 June 2015 or 1 July 2015, as specified in each standard.

APRA is proposing more material changes to the five reporting standards released today for industry consultation. The changes to these standards relate to the reporting of investment data and data that is otherwise required to be included in Product Disclosure Statements for MySuper products. APRA has also deferred the reporting of some investment performance data until the legislative requirements relating to the choice product dashboard have been finalised.

APRA has also extended the transition relief for lodgement of quarterly returns for a further two years, allowing quarterly returns to be submitted within 35 (rather than 28) calendar days after the end of the reporting period until mid 2017. However APRA encourages Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE) licensees to continue to submit well within this timeframe wherever possible.

The discussion paper and the 31 reporting standards can be found on the APRA website.