2017 June ClearNews

Welcome to ClearNews June 2017.

Every few months, ClearNews tells you what's new at Cleardocs. We also send you monthly ClearLaw emails discussing legal developments relevant to the documents we provide.

ASIC fee increase effective 1 July 2017

From 1 July 2017, ASIC fees will increase. The fee increases apply to lodgements including the following company services:

• registration of a proprietary limited company, from $469 to $479;
• registration of a public company limited by guarantee, from $387 to $395;
• company name reservation, from $47 to $48; and
• company deregistration, from $38 to $39;
• business name registration for 1 year, from $34 to $35;
• business name registration for 3 years, from $80 to $82.

Please note that ASIC fees are not subject to GST.

SMSF member's death benefit arrangements now allow for nomination of reversionary beneficiaries

In our ClearLaw article "The 2017 superannuation reforms — thinking about death benefits", our lawyers at Maddocks discussed why it may be preferable for members to make current pensions reversionary.

Why? This will afford the beneficiary some additional time to organise their affairs and manage their transfer balance account.

How? Here's how Cleardocs can help.

Option 1: Nominating a reversionary beneficiary from the beginning

A member can nominate a reversionary beneficiary at the time they set up their pension using the Cleardocs SMSF Pension Pack.

This document package has recently been updated for the 2017 super reforms and is 100% up to date and compliant with the law.

Option 2: Nominating a reversionary beneficiary later ie through our new and enhanced binding death benefit arrangements

If a member has pension or death benefit documents in place which do not name a reversionary beneficiary, this can now be done through Cleardocs new Death Benefit Agreements and Binding Death Benefit Nominations.

On the advice of Maddocks, we have updated our Death Benefit Agreement and Death Benefit Nomination to allow members the option to specify that any pension paid will automatically revert to an eligible person ie be a reversionary pension.

• Binding Death Benefit Nomination. This is available for a reduced fee of $39.60 (inc. GST) until 30 June 2017 for any, or all of the members of a fund — provided the forms are ordered at the same time, and/or
• Death Benefit Agreement. This is available for a reduced fee of $57.20 (inc. GST) until 30 June 2017 for any, or all, of the members of a fund — provided the agreements are ordered at the same time.

This new format is in place for all death benefit arrangements ordered on or after 8 June through any of our SMSF document packages.

To create a new Death Benefit Agreement the fund will need to have a Cleardocs SMSF deed, which was created or updated on or after 4 May 2009. If the fund currently:

• has a Cleardocs deed, you can check which version it has by logging in at Cleardocs and clicking the light blue "Version X of Y" button beside the relevant SMSF in your list of documents; or
• does not have a Cleardocs deed, then you can update to a Cleardocs deed for $110 online.

Further enhancements to SMSF update process

We recently announced our integrations with BGL Simple Fund and Class Super for bulk import of your client data. We have received very positive feedback about how the integrations are helping you deal with the super reforms and make your bulk SMSF updates easy.

To further assist you, the following further two enhancements are now live on our website.

1. New & improved interface for Update to SMSF

• We have removed some redundant questions in our online interface, helping you to complete your orders more quickly. For example, we have removed questions seeking details of earlier amending deeds and adjusted the wording of the deed of variation to generically cover all relevant amendments.
• For Cleardocs funds, we are now pre-filling all answers in your Update to SMSF orders to save you data entry.

2. Streamlined procedure for bulk upgrades to Cleardocs funds

We have put in place a new procedure for bulk updates for non-Cleardocs deeds to save you data entry for each individual order. You can now access this on your Bulk SMSF Updates page in your Cleardocs account. The process is:

• save our spreadsheet of fund details.
• complete the spreadsheet with fund details.
• upload the spreadsheet to allow our system to import the data.
• your update orders will automatically start and complete.
• you will be directed to pay for your orders via a single payment.

We will shortly be introducing a new feature to our My SMSFs page to allow one-click bulk updates for existing Cleardocs funds.

Cleardocs sponsors Law Institute of Victoria's Practice Management Conference

Law Institute of Victoria is having their inaugural Practice Management Conference on Thursday 22 June, which Cleardocs is supporting. This exciting full-day CPD activity will provide practitioners in all stages of their careers to learn the key techniques and information they need to succeed.

Several sessions in the innovative program are split into two streams to ensure you are getting the education and advice most relevant to your current phase of practice management.

If you are just starting out in your own practice, or looking into the option, the sessions in Stream 1 are designed for you. If you are already established in your own practice and looking for ways to grow, consider registering for Stream 2.

Both streams provide 6 CPD units in practice management.

Don't miss this excellent opportunity to increase your awareness of new technology and tools that will streamline your business processes. Save time by registering online at here. Alternatively, email your registration and payment to register@liv.asn.au or call 9607 9473.

We look forward to seeing you there.