SMSF structure
SMSF corporate trustee: costs, ASIC fees and when to use one
A corporate trustee for your SMSF is a single special-purpose Pty Ltd whose only job is to act as trustee of the fund. It costs slightly more to set up than individual trustees, but the long-term admin savings — especially when members change or property is involved — are why most SMSF specialists recommend it as default.
Corporate trustee vs individual trustees
With individual trustees, every asset the SMSF holds (bank accounts, share registries, property titles) is held in the joint names of every member. When a member is added, removed, or passes away, you have to re-register every single asset — a real cost in time, broker fees, and legal fees, particularly if the fund holds property.
A corporate trustee removes that problem. The Pty Ltd is the legal owner of every asset, and members are simply added or removed as directors of the trustee company. There's also a cleaner separation between fund assets and personal assets, which matters for liability and audit purposes.
ASIC charges a reduced annual review fee for special-purpose super trustee companies (currently $69/yr vs $321/yr for a standard Pty Ltd), and the one-off ASIC registration fee for the Pty Ltd is included in easySMSF's fixed setup fee.
- Special-purpose Pty Ltd — sole purpose is acting as SMSF trustee
- Reduced annual ASIC review fee ($69/yr vs $321/yr standard company)
- Cleaner audit and asset segregation, particularly for SMSFs holding property
- Members come and go as company directors — no asset re-registration required
- ASIC company registration included in easySMSF's fixed setup fee
- Required if you want a single-member SMSF (sole director Pty Ltd structure)