“Each SMSF trustee has a responsibility to protect the fund’s assets and meet their obligations under super law,” the ATO stated.

“This includes maintaining a unique SMSF bank account to manage the fund’s operations and accept contributions, rollovers of super and income from investments. The fund’s bank account must be kept separate from the trustees’ individual bank accounts and any related employers’ or advisers’ bank accounts.”

An ATO spokesperson told SMSF Adviser the regulator wanted to stress the importance of having a unique bank account “so as to ensure that all members of an SMSF and their assets are protected”.

The spokesperson confirmed that there could be “flow-on impacts” for funds that did not supply a unique bank account to the ATO by March 2021, when they would be prohibited from receiving APRA fund rollovers.

“We will be issuing correspondence over the coming weeks to trustees and directors of approximately 13,000 SMSFs to bring this to their attention so they are aware of the future impacts,” the spokesperson said.

“We will also advise them how this information can be updated.”

The website announcement stated that advisers could update their SMSF clients’ account details in the ATO’s online services for tax agents by going to their client’s profile and updating their financial institution details.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article stated that the ATO would contact trustees without a unique bank account in the coming weeks. SMSF Adviser has since been informed by the ATO that due to resourcing constraints, trustee correspondence will now be sent out early next year.