Artha Tax is a registered tax agent and chartered accountant, not a licensed financial adviser. This article provides general educational information about SMSFs only. It is not financial advice and should not be relied upon as such. Before making any decision about your superannuation, you should seek advice from a licensed financial adviser who can assess your individual circumstances.
Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) come up often in conversations with doctors, specialists, and allied health professionals — especially as incomes grow and superannuation balances become more meaningful. But between the ATO requirements, trustee obligations, and compliance costs, the reality is more nuanced than the headlines suggest.
This article walks through what an SMSF actually involves — the structure, the costs, the responsibilities, and the questions that are worth thinking through carefully before you take any next steps.
1 What Is an SMSF, Actually?
An SMSF is a private superannuation fund that you manage yourself, rather than through a large industry or retail fund. It can have up to six members, all of whom are also trustees — meaning they are legally responsible for how the fund operates and invests.
The key difference from a standard super fund is control. In an SMSF, you (along with your co-trustees, if any) decide where the money is invested. That could include shares, property, bonds, cash, or other allowable assets — within the strict rules set by the ATO.
With control comes responsibility. As a trustee, you are personally liable for the fund's compliance with superannuation law — even if you hire professionals to help you run it. The ATO takes SMSF trustee obligations seriously.
2 What Does It Actually Cost?
This is one of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of SMSFs. Running costs vary depending on the complexity of the fund, but here is what you should expect to budget for each year:
All SMSFs must be audited by an approved SMSF auditor every year. This is mandatory regardless of fund size.
The fund lodges its own annual tax return. Accounting and preparation fees apply — these vary based on investment complexity.
A government levy is charged each year via the fund's tax return. Check the ATO's current rate as this is updated periodically.
Brokerage fees, property management (if applicable), insurance, and other investment-related costs sit on top of administration costs.
The SMSF Association and financial regulators have historically suggested that funds with lower balances may struggle to justify the fixed costs of running an SMSF when compared to industry fund fees. The minimum balance where an SMSF might begin to be cost-competitive is a question best explored with a licensed financial adviser who can run the numbers for your specific situation.
3 What Are the Trustee Obligations?
This is where many people underestimate what they are signing up for. Being an SMSF trustee is not passive. You have ongoing legal obligations, including:
The ATO can and does impose significant penalties for trustee non-compliance — including fines, disqualification, and in serious cases, making the fund non-complying (which carries a significant tax penalty on the fund's assets). Ignorance of the rules is not a defence.
4 What Can an SMSF Invest In?
One of the main reasons medical professionals are drawn to SMSFs is investment flexibility. An SMSF can invest in a broad range of assets, subject to the fund's investment strategy and superannuation law. Common investment types include:
Including purchasing your own medical practice premises through the fund
Direct shares, ETFs, and managed funds listed on exchanges
Bank accounts and fixed interest investments held in the fund's name
One frequently discussed strategy for medical professionals is using an SMSF to purchase the premises from which they operate their practice. This can allow lease income to flow back into the fund at concessional tax rates. However, this involves complex rules around related-party transactions and requires very careful structuring. It is a strategy that requires specialist advice — both accounting and financial planning — before proceeding.
An SMSF cannot lend money to members or their relatives, purchase assets from related parties (with limited exceptions), or invest in ways that provide a present-day benefit to you or your family. These are called the in-house asset rules and related-party rules. Breaching them carries serious consequences.
5 Questions to Ask Before Taking Any Next Step
Rather than telling you whether an SMSF is right for you — which is something only a licensed financial adviser can properly assess — here are the questions worth sitting with before you go any further:
Trustees are expected to be actively involved. If your schedule doesn't allow for regular review and decision-making, an SMSF may create compliance risk rather than opportunity.
The costs of running an SMSF are largely fixed regardless of fund size. A licensed financial adviser can help you compare this against what you're currently paying in your existing fund.
SMSFs work well for people who want genuine control over their investment strategy. They are not the right vehicle for those primarily seeking to reduce tax — that's not a valid sole purpose, and the ATO scrutinises this.
You will need a registered SMSF auditor, an accountant who can prepare the fund's tax return and financials, and ideally a licensed financial adviser who can guide investment strategy and insurance decisions.
Illness, change in work arrangements, relationship breakdown, or the death of a co-trustee all affect an SMSF in ways that a standard fund handles automatically. Winding up an SMSF also involves costs and complexity.
6 The Tax Side — Where Artha Tax Comes In
While financial advice sits with a licensed adviser, there is a significant tax compliance and accounting function in running an SMSF. This is where a registered tax agent like Artha Tax can assist:
If you're already working with a financial adviser and exploring an SMSF, we can work alongside them to handle the accounting and tax compliance side. If you don't yet have a financial adviser, we're happy to help you think through what questions to raise before that conversation.
This article has been prepared by Artha Tax Pty Ltd (Registered Tax Agent) for general informational purposes only. It is intended to provide educational context about self-managed superannuation funds for medical and allied health professionals.
This article does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to establish, contribute to, or wind up an SMSF. Artha Tax is not a licensed financial adviser and is not authorised to provide personal financial product advice under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
Superannuation decisions are complex and depend heavily on your individual circumstances, financial goals, risk tolerance, and life stage. Before making any decision about your superannuation, you should seek advice from a licensed financial adviser who holds an appropriate Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this article, tax and superannuation laws change frequently. You should verify current rules with the ATO or a qualified professional before acting on any information contained here.
Rinku has 25+ years of expertise in accounting, tax and SMSF compliance, specialising in medical and allied health professionals across NSW. Artha Tax assists with SMSF set-up, annual compliance, and tax return preparation — working alongside licensed financial advisers to ensure clients get the complete picture.