Superannuation trustee review workflow
Death benefits are not estate assets unless the trustee pays them to the estate. Trustees exercise a discretion constrained by the trust deed, the SIS Act, and Lock v Westpac style review. The window for objection is short; strong submissions shift many preliminary decisions.
This is an 8-step workflow for reviewing a superannuation trustee's proposed decision or determination on a death benefit, including written objection and AFCA complaint.
Before you start
- Signed costs agreement and conflict check
- Trustee's proposed decision notice and claim papers
- Client instructions on dependency, interdependency, and estate planning
- Copy of any binding or non-binding nomination
The workflow
Obtain full member records
Obtain the member's full super records — fund rules, nomination, benefit statement, claim forms, trustee reasons — under the trust deed information rights and the Privacy Act.
Analyse the nomination
Analyse any binding nomination for validity — three-year rule (unless non-lapsing), form, signing, witnessing, nominee eligibility under the SIS Act definitions.
Map potential beneficiaries
Map each potential beneficiary under the SIS Act — spouse, child, interdependent, financial dependant — and their respective strengths on the factual record.
Build dependency and interdependency evidence
Build evidence of dependency or interdependency — cohabitation, financial entanglement, care, shared life. Documents are stronger than affidavit assertions alone.
Prepare written objection
Prepare a written objection to the trustee's proposed decision within the 28-day window. Address each factor the trustee has weighed and provide further evidence.
Seek trustee reasons on determination
After the trustee issues a determination, seek full reasons. The reasons set up the AFCA complaint and any judicial review application.
File AFCA complaint
Lodge an AFCA complaint within 28 days of the trustee's determination, addressing the fairness and reasonableness of the decision on each eligible beneficiary.
Consider further review options
On AFCA determination, consider judicial review on error of law grounds. Coordinate with any parallel estate administration, family provision, or tax issues.
What you will have at the end
Either a trustee determination in the client's favour after objection, or an AFCA determination overturning or varying the trustee's decision, with appropriate tax and estate planning flow-on.
Common issues
- Binding nomination assumed valid without form and witness check
- Interdependency evidence is general rather than specific
- AFCA time limit missed after trustee final determination
- SMSF death benefit treated the same as a retail fund
- Tax component of the benefit ignored in settlement proposals
Run this workflow on a real matter
Quillio audits the nomination, maps eligible beneficiaries under the SIS Act, and drafts the objection and AFCA complaint. See /practice-areas/wills-estates-lawyers or start a free trial at /free-trial.
General guide only — not legal advice. Death benefit decisions interact with tax, estate, and family provision law; obtain specialist advice.
Try this workflow with Quillio.
Quillio can run this workflow on a real matter, with citations to current AU authority on every step. The free trial requires no credit card.
Start your free trial