DEED AMENDMENTS
Trust deed and trustee amendments.
SMSF deed upgrades, trustee changes, name changes: the documentation that effects a structural change to the fund. Prepared, technically reviewed, returned ready to execute.
WHO THIS IS FOR
One-off amendment documentation.
SMSF structures change. Deeds age and fall behind legislation, trustees change, members come and go, funds get renamed. Each event requires a specific document, properly drafted and executed in the right sequence. We prepare those documents on a one-off basis, with no annual administration engagement required.
The decision to amend (whether to upgrade the deed, restructure the trustee, or change membership) is a strategy question. We don’t answer that. We prepare the documentation that records and effects a decision the trustees have already made on advice.
One thing worth being clear on: we’re a registered tax agent, not a law firm, and we don’t provide legal advice. The deeds and legal documents in our packs are prepared by WE. SMSF using legal documentation supplied by ACIS. Where a matter needs legal advice or bespoke drafting, we work alongside a specialist SMSF lawyer, or refer you to one.
WHAT WE PREPARE
Five amendment types.
Trust deed upgrade
$990 incl. GST
Full replacement of the fund’s existing deed with a current-legislation deed. Includes the upgrade resolution, the new deed signed by the trustees, and member acknowledgements.
Recommended where the existing deed predates significant legislative change (e.g. the transfer balance cap, or the 2021 contribution and six-member-fund changes), or hasn’t kept pace with what trustees now want to do: reversionary nominations, binding death benefit nominations, or current pension rules.
Minor deed amendment
Quoted on request
Single-clause amendment to the existing deed where a full upgrade isn’t warranted. Includes the deed of variation, trustee resolution, and member acknowledgement.
Examples: enabling reversionary nominations on existing pensions, updating investment strategy clauses, clarifying a specific compliance position. Quoted on the specifics of the change.
Change of trustee: adding individual trustee
$990 incl. GST
Resolutions, consents, and notices to add or remove an individual trustee, or change a corporate trustee’s directors. Includes ATO change-of-details notification.
Trustee declaration forms prepared for the incoming trustee per s 104A SIS Act.
Change of trustee: adding company trustee
$2,079 incl. GST
Conversion from individual trustees to a corporate trustee. Includes the new SMSF special-purpose company set-up, ASIC registration, constitution, share register, and the trustee changeover documentation.
ASIC registration fee payable separately to ASIC.
Change of fund name
$330 incl. GST
Documentation to rename the fund: trustee resolution, deed of variation if required by the existing deed, and the ATO change-of-details notification.
Often paired with a change of trustee. Bundled fee available on request.
HOW IT WORKS
What the process looks like.
STEP 1
Submit the amendment request
Fund details, the specific amendment, and a copy of the current deed.
STEP 2
We review and prepare
Deed review against the request, document preparation, technical review.
STEP 3
You execute and retain
Trustees sign. ASIC or ATO notifications lodged where applicable.
Typical turnaround: 3–5 working days from a complete request.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about amendments.
When does a deed need to be upgraded?
There’s no statutory rule that compels a deed upgrade. The practical test is whether the existing deed lets the trustees do everything they reasonably need to do under current legislation. Common triggers: the deed predates the transfer balance cap (2017) or the contribution rule changes (2017 and 2021); the deed caps membership below the current six-member limit; the deed restricts reversionary nominations or BDBNs in ways current law allows; the deed has a closed-class trustee restriction that needs to change.
If the existing deed is silent or restrictive on something the trustees want to do, that’s an upgrade trigger. We review the deed against the request and flag whether a full upgrade or a minor amendment is the cleaner path.
Do trustees need to sign in person?
For most amendments, no. Companies can execute documents electronically under the Corporations Act 2001 (s 127, supported by s 110A), so corporate-trustee deed work is straightforward. For individual trustees, whether a deed can be signed electronically depends on the law of the trustees’ state. Most allow it under state electronic transactions legislation, but some keep specific signing or witnessing requirements for deeds. We confirm the position for your state and supply the pack accordingly: as a PDF for signing in a standard e-signing tool, or for printing and wet-ink signing where that’s required or preferred.
Some specific amendments, particularly those that affect land titles or are read alongside property transactions, require wet ink. We flag those at the point of request.
Will an amendment affect existing pensions?
Generally no. Deed amendments are forward-looking and don’t restart or recharacterise existing pensions. There are specific cases where they do: amending a pension document itself, changing a reversionary nomination that’s part of the pension’s foundational terms, or a deed change that affects how a grandfathered pension is treated for Centrelink purposes. Those are advice questions and we flag them before drafting.
Need an amendment prepared?
Tell us the amendment and we’ll prepare the pack. Most are fixed-fee, GST-inclusive.
Request an amendment pack