The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released a response letter and two prudential practice guides for superannuation trustees in the areas of contribution and benefit accrual standards, and payment standards. The two prudential practice guides are: Prudential Practice Guide SPG 270 – Contribution and benefit accrual standards for regulated superannuation funds; and Prudential Practice Guide SPG 280 – Payment standards for regulated superannuation funds and approved deposit funds. The prudential practice guides were previously released in draft version in August 2011 and have been revised following industry feedback. The response letter outlines the nature of the feedback received and APRA’s response to that feedback. The prudential practice guides do not introduce any new requirements for trustees. They update APRA’s existing guidance, issued as Superannuation Circulars in 2006, to reflect legislative changes introduced since then and to adopt the prudential practice guide format that APRA uses for other supervised industries. 

The prudential practice guides are final and are effective immediately.