In May 2023, the ATO said in a statement to SMSF Adviser that under its powers, it can issue an education directive to trustees who may have breached compliance standards. It had previously relied on education courses provided by independent organisations.

“Where an SMSF has contravened superannuation legislation, the law allows us to require the trustees to undertake a free education course,” the ATO said in a statement to SMSF Adviser.

“Previously we were able to offer free education courses developed and maintained by external providers, however, due to ongoing costs or content being out of date, these have all been withdrawn.”

However, the ATO announced yesterday that two new courses, Setting up a self-managed super fund and Winding up a self-managed super fund are now available online.

It stated the interactive courses provide an opportunity for trustees to build their knowledge and can be easily accessed from the ATO's small business education portal, smallbusiness.taxsuperandyou.gov.au.

Trustees can create an account and set up a personalised learning pathway, which will also record course completion.

These courses form part of a suite of education products aimed at supporting SMSF trustees with their regulatory and reporting obligations.

The ATO said it will be launching the final course in the suite later in the year on running a self-managed super fund.

These courses complement the ATO's suite of lifecycle publications which help those wanting to learn more about navigating an SMSF.