Starting the end-of-financial-year SMSF compliance work in May rather than late June is the single biggest predictor of a clean year for a self-managed fund. The advisers who run the May checklist on every fund in the practice are not the ones working through July nights. Here is the version of the checklist that experienced SMSF practitioners use, written up for the 2026 cycle.

The 30 May tasks:

Confirm the contribution caps used by each member through the year. Cross-check the concessional and non-concessional contribution totals against the year’s records and identify any member sitting close to a cap or carrying unused cap from prior years. The advisers who do this in May catch the issues that the auditors will flag in October.

Confirm pension payment status for any fund in pension phase. The minimum pension drawdown must be met before 30 June. The advisers who pull the pension status report on every fund in early May are the ones who have time to address any shortfall. The advisers who wait until June are running on a single attempt.

Confirm trustee resolutions are documented for the year’s investment strategy review, any in-house asset events, and any related party transactions. The auditor will ask for these. The funds with clean resolution registers move through audit quickly.

Confirm the fund’s asset valuations are current. The market-value rule for SMSF financial reporting is well-established and the audit teams are tighter on documentation than they were three years ago. Property valuations, unlisted investment valuations, and collectables valuations should be in date.

Confirm the fund’s bank account reconciliation is up to date. The funds with messy bank reconciliations are the funds with messy financial statements, which is the source of the back-and-forth in audit.

Confirm the fund’s investment strategy document reflects the current holdings. The 2024 amendments to the investment strategy review expectations have been embedded in the audit checklist for a year now. A strategy document that does not address current asset class exposures will get a finding.

The May talking points with members:

The contribution cap conversation. If a member is approaching the cap, the May conversation is the opportunity to plan the final two months of contributions rather than discover the problem after 30 June.

The pension drawdown conversation. If a member is intentionally drawing below or above their planning target, May is the time to confirm or adjust.

The CGT planning conversation. Members with realised capital gains during the year may have planning opportunities with capital losses that can be triggered before 30 June. The May review identifies the candidates.

The estate planning touch-point. The binding death benefit nomination renewal cycle and the trustee succession planning conversation are best held outside the EOFY rush.

The 30 May practice tasks:

Review the EOFY workflow for the practice. Confirm which funds are on schedule, which are at risk, and which require an early conversation. The advisers who triage in May are the ones who finish in August. The advisers who triage in late June are the ones who finish in October.

Confirm the auditor capacity. The good SMSF audit teams book up quickly. The practices with confirmed auditor slots are the ones whose returns lodge on time. The practices that book audit in July are taking what is left.

Confirm the practice’s professional indemnity is current and adequate. The PI insurance market for SMSF practices has tightened slightly through 2025 and 2026 and the policy review is a small task that can save a large headache.

The 2026 cycle has no particular surprises in the legislative settings. The contribution caps are stable. The pension phase rules are stable. The reporting requirements are familiar. What is different is the audit and supervisor expectation around documentation discipline, which has continued to firm up year on year.

The May checklist is the lever. The funds with their May tasks done by Mother’s Day weekend are well-positioned for the rest of the cycle. The funds whose advisers are still working through this list in late June are heading into a difficult winter.