The Federal Court has handed down another civil penalty decision for breaches by self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act).

In the case of the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation (Superannuation) v Ryan [2015] FCA 1037 the Federal Court fined the two trustees of an SMSF $20,000 each for breaching the sole purpose test, the prohibition against providing members with financial assistance, the in-house asset rules and the requirement to make investments on an arm’s length basis. This was as a result of the SMSF lending to the members over $200,000. Most of these loans were never paid back to the SMSF ultimately leaving the SMSF with about $6,000 in assets. In addition, the members were disqualified as trustees.