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SMSF Member Death: What to do next

Recorded 25 March 2026. Strengthen your skills and professional boundaries in sensitive client situations.

Learn what SMSF accountants and administrators must do when a member dies. Gain practical steps, role boundaries, and compliance guidance to support clients.

Recorded 25 March 2026

You arrive at the office in the morning and are greeted by a distraught client who informs you that their spouse, a member of your client’s SMSF, has died. There goes your day.

As an accountant or administrator, what do you do next?

Strengthen your skills and professional boundaries in sensitive client situations. This scenario-based webinar equips SMSF accountants and administrators with the essential know-how to confidently manage the administrative and compliance requirements following the death of a fund member. With a focus on practical actions, such as updating member records, reporting to the ATO, and liaising with trustees, and a clear delineation of what falls within your role (and what does not), this session will help you safeguard your professional standing, deliver empathetic client service, and support compliance when it matters most.

Total 1.25 CPD Hours

On completion, participants will be able to:

Understand the immediate administrative and compliance steps triggered by a member’s death.
Clarify which duties fall within the SMSF administrator/accountant’s scope and which are strictly for legal or financial advisers.
Develop confidence in managing communications, recordkeeping, and regulatory reporting during a sensitive client event.
Enhance professional boundaries and reduce compliance risk through prompt and appropriate referral.

Mark Ellem

Head of Education, Accurium

Mark is a popular, experienced and highly sought after presenter who is passionate about educating accountants and SMSF practitioners about SMSFs and strategies to make SMSFs a successful part of their business.

He has extensive experience in Self-Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs), Pension Funds, Income Tax and Financial Advisory. He is a Fellow of the CPA, IPA and SMSF Association, and received the 2018 SMSF Association CEO award in February 2019 for his contribution to the association and was in the inaugural group of association members to advance to the status of Fellow in February 2020.

Mark has spent over 30 years in accounting practices and SMSF administration companies, including running his own accountancy practice and SMSF administration and compliance advice company for ten years.