Emerging Issues in Superannuation: The 2016 National Superannuation Conference

Brad Ivens is an Executive Director at Ernst & Young. Working with clients ranging from some of Australia’s largest industry and employer sponsored funds, through to public sector and self-managed funds, he has over 18 years’ experience in providing tax compliance and advisory services for the superannuation industry.

We spoke to Brad about the session he’ll be presenting at the 2016 National Superannuation Conference with Phil Witherow, CTA, from Cbus, “Emerging Issues in Superannuation”.

Asked what attendees can expect to learn from their session, Brad replied “We are covering the new Attribution Managed Investment Trust rules, looking at how the global Base Erosion and Profit Shifting phenomenon is impacting large super funds, providing updates as to where the ATO are at with Tax Risk Management, Foreign Income Tax Offsets, and the re-write of Taxation Ruling 93/17. We'll also be discussing some key of the key superannuation reforms coming out of the recent Budget and election. And somehow we are going to fit this all in within an hour!”

Designed to provide an overview on various legislative, ATO and other tax-related developments affecting the superannuation industry, Brad noted “As we are not doing a deep dive on one issue in particular, what we hope to do is provide the 'need to know' information, and also some practical perspectives on what it means and how to address each item.”

Asked about his predictions for the new financial year, Brad said “Get ready for lots of changes. The superannuation industry should really get on the front foot with what has been proposed.”

“We hope to provoke discussion on these issues, where delegates can bring their thoughts and perspectives to the table. We can all learn a lot from each other, and the tax professionals within the superannuation industry in particular are very good at collaborating for the greater good.” Brad said.

Looking at the conference more broadly, Brad said “It really is the showcase event for superannuation tax professionals to connect with each other and to discuss current technical issues and broader tax policies. No other conference has same level of in-depth analysis. At the same time, I know that folk in the superannuation industry who are not necessarily tax experts can also attend to expand their learning, and it is credit to the Institute and the presenters that such a cross-section can be catered to.” 

Personally, Brad tells us “I returned to EY in January this year after a 2 year hiatus. Previously I had been at EY for 16 years from 1998 to 2014 so it was a bit of a “homecoming”. Speaking of home, I am married with 4 children aged from 1 to 8. Yes, it’s a lot of work (especially for my dear wife who is a star). And as we live in Geelong, we are all Cats fans.”


The 2016 National Superannuation Conference takes place 25-26 August 2016 at Crown Conference Hall, Melbourne. The premier event for tax specialists within the superannuation industry, it uniquely deals with the tax issues affecting both the large fund and self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) sectors. Find out more

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