Practice area
SuperannuationKiwiSaver and workplace superannuationEmployee benefits and ERISA retirement plans
Define the intended work in Superannuation, confirm the applicable requirements and select a task to plan the necessary review.
Key facts
- Tasks covered
- 25
- Tasks with a step-by-step checklist
- 12
- Local differences
- 3 jurisdictions where this area changes
Jurisdiction
Tasks
GreenLawyer reviewYellowClose supervisionRedLawyer-led
| Task | How AI is used | Human involvement | What the lawyer must review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build a contribution-cap and excess-contribution table | From the member data the lawyer supplies, list concessional and non-concessional (or equivalent) contributions against the current caps and flag possible excesses. | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Build a contribution-cap and excess-contribution table from ATO data | List concessional and non-concessional contributions against current caps, flag excesses and s 291-20 ITAA 1997 carry-forward, and draft an explanatory letter. | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Compare a self-managed retirement-fund deed to a current-law checklist | Compare the deed to the checklist the lawyer supplies and list missing or outdated clauses with clause references. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Draft a death-benefit or beneficiary nomination and validity checklist | Produce a first-draft nomination and a checklist of deed, witness and dependant requirements from the deed and the member details. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Advise on KiwiSaver death benefits | Extract the scheme, the nominated persons and the will from the file. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build a death-benefit claim file from the trustee papers | Extract the nomination, dependant evidence, deed clauses and correspondence into a claim chronology and a list of missing documents. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build a trustee-duties compliance table for the fund | Map the trustee's described practices to the covenants or fiduciary duties the lawyer has listed, and mark missing policies and registers. | YellowClose supervision | Confirm which prudential or fiduciary regime actually applies to this trustee |
| Build a trustee-covenant compliance table under ss 52–52B of the SIS Act | Map the trustee's practices to the s 52 covenants (best financial interests, care and diligence, conflicts) and the APRA or ASIC guidance listed; mark missing policies. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Advise on a US retirement-plan covenant under ERISA | Extract plan-document duties the lawyer highlights into a table labelled for ERISA/IRC confirmation. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Map preservation and early-release conditions for a member | From the member's age, employment and medical papers, list candidate conditions of release and the evidence still required. | RedLawyer-led |
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| Compare two fund deeds for a successor-fund or merger transfer | Produce a clause-by-clause comparison of benefits, insurance, fees and member rights, and a first-draft member communication outline. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Compare two super fund deeds for an APRA successor-fund transfer | Compare benefits, insurance, fees and member rights clause by clause against APRA successor-fund-transfer guidance, and outline a first-draft member communication. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build a self-managed fund contraventions checklist from the accounts | From the accounts and related-party papers, list possible loan, in-house asset, sole-purpose and related-party issues with document references. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build an SMSF contraventions checklist from the accounts | List possible s 65 loan, in-house asset, sole-purpose and related-party issues from the accounts, and draft a first-pass s 166 SIS Act voluntary-disclosure letter. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Calculate minimum pension or drawdown figures from the balance and age | Produce a drawdown table from the account balance, age and the percentage schedule the lawyer has supplied, with a commencement-document checklist. | RedLawyer-led |
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| Draft a family-law retirement-fund or pension splitting notice pack | Produce first-draft flagging or splitting notices and a valuation-information request from the order or agreement and the fund type. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build an employer contribution-compliance table | From payroll data and the contribution rules the lawyer names, list pay cycles, due dates and shortfalls, and draft a first-pass remediation schedule. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Map tax-free and taxable components of a lump-sum or pension payment | From the member record, build a component table and a withholding checklist using the rates the lawyer has supplied. | RedLawyer-led |
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| Map tax-free and taxable components of a super lump-sum or pension | Build a tax-free and taxable component table under Divs 301–307 ITAA 1997 and a PAYG withholding checklist from the member record and the rates supplied. | RedLawyer-led |
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| Build a related-party income and expenditure table for the fund | From the accounts and related-party contracts, list dealings that may not be arm's length, with the documents and pricing evidence on each row. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build an SMSF related-party NALI and NALE table from the accounts | From the accounts and related-party contracts, list dealings that may not be arm's length under s 295-550 of the ITAA 1997, with the documents and pricing evidence on each row. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Compare a member booklet or product disclosure to the deed | Compare the member-facing booklet to the deed and list inconsistencies on benefits, insurance, fees and nomination rules. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Prepare a rollover or transfer checklist from the two fund papers | List the forms, consents, insurance consequences and timing from both funds' papers, and mark missing items. | GreenLawyer review |
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| Draft trustee minutes and a resolution from the meeting papers | Turn the agenda, papers and notes into draft minutes and resolutions, with conflicts and decisions that still need a recorded vote flagged. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Build an investment-strategy and related-party dealing file | Extract the strategy document, asset list and related-party contracts into a file index with dates and apparent gaps against the strategy. | YellowClose supervision |
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| Extract data from TPD insurance claim documents | Use AI extraction to organise claim evidence. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer verifies medical and employment facts. |
| Build a knowledge-mining index for super disability claims | Index claim files for retrieval. | YellowClose supervision | Check confidentiality controls. |
| Assess TPD claim timelines faster with AI | Generate claim timeline. | YellowClose supervision | Verify against source. |
| Check AI-generated summaries of trust deeds and SIS rules | Verify summaries. | RedLawyer-led | Lawyer reads deed. |
| Draft member communications with AI | Draft plain-language letters. | GreenLawyer review | Compliance review. |
| Explain GenAI court rules to a superannuation complainant | Summarise court AI rules. | GreenLawyer review | Lawyer approves. |
| Summarise fund trust deed provisions on death benefits | Extract nomination provisions. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer verifies. |
| Draft an AFCA complaint summary | Summarise the complaint facts. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer reviews. |
Firm-wide obligations
| Obligation | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Trust accounting & handling client money | Checks that apply across files. |
| Costs, billing & litigation funding | Checks that apply across files. |
| Client-facing & access-to-justice AI tools | Checks that apply across files. |
| Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents | Checks that apply across files. |
| AI decision systems | Checks that apply across files. |
| Confidentiality & client information | Checks that apply across files. |
| AML/CTF — the practice as a reporting entity | Checks that apply across files. |
What changes in Australia
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| Legal sources | Trust law, the SIS Act and SIS Regulations, APRA and ASIC prudential regulation, ITAA 1997 and ITAA 1936, and financial services licensing. |
| Figures | Contribution caps, preservation rules and pension-phase thresholds change each year and are indexed in both directions. One wrong date or cap can cause irreversible tax consequences for the member. |
| Trustee duties | Trustee obligations are non-delegable and owed personally. |
| Recent change | 2024–2026 brought payday super, DBFO, FAR, CPS 230 and new Family Law superannuation regulations. |
| Limits on AI assistance |
|
What changes in New Zealand
Known here as: KiwiSaver and workplace superannuation
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| Governing Act | KiwiSaver Act 2006, administered with Inland Revenue. Schedule 1 contains the rules KiwiSaver schemes must follow. |
| Not Australian law | Not the SIS Act, APRA or an Australian binding death-benefit nomination. |
| Relationship splits | Do not assume the Australian super-splitting regime. Open a current New Zealand instrument. |
- KiwiSaver Act 2006 · 2026-09-23
- Inland Revenue: KiwiSaver legislation · 2026-09-23
What changes in United States
Known here as: Employee benefits and ERISA retirement plans
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| Governing law | ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code govern qualified plans, 401(k) plans and many health plans. No Superannuation Guarantee or SIS Act analogue. |
| Ethics | Formal Opinion 512, and Circular 230 if you practise before the IRS, govern generated plan-document and tax analysis. |
- ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024) · 2026-09-23
- IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, Issue 2026-19, Introductory Guidelines for Responsible AI Use in Federal Tax Practice · 2026-09-23
- 29 U.S.C. § 1001 (ERISA): findings and declaration of policy · 2026-09-23
- IRS: 401(k) plans · 2026-09-23
Precedents for this area
- Binding death benefit nomination (SMSF and APRA-regulated fund variants) (Form, AI use Yellow). Original binding death benefit nomination with SMSF and APRA-fund variants, witness declaration, trustee acknowledgement and validity checklist, so the benefit goes where the member intends.
- AFCA superannuation complaint (including death benefit and TPD decisions) (Form, AI use Yellow). Completion guide for an AFCA superannuation complaint: jurisdiction checks, strict time limits for death benefit and TPD complaints, what goes in each part of the form, and documents to attach.
- SMSF trust deed variation deed (Deed, AI use Yellow). Deed varying an SMSF's governing rules by replacement or specific amendment, with continuity, accrued-benefit and SIS compliance clauses, a trustee resolution and execution blocks.
- SMSF investment strategy (including insurance consideration) (Policy, AI use Yellow). Tailorable SMSF investment strategy covering objectives, risk, diversification, liquidity, liabilities, member insurance, reserves and review, structured to meet SIS Act s 52B(2)(f) and SIS Regulations reg 4.09.
- Total and permanent disablement claim submission letter to trustee and insurer (Letter, AI use Yellow). Letter submitting a superannuation TPD claim against the exact policy definition, asking the trustee to pursue the claim, assess permanent incapacity and disclose adverse material before deciding.
- Review checklist for AI-generated member communications and chatbots (superannuation trustees) (Checklist, AI use Yellow). Release checklist for AI-generated superannuation member communications and chatbots: governance, the personal advice boundary, accuracy, misleading conduct, high-risk topics, privacy and sign-off.
- AI prompt template with guardrails: extracting a fund deed's death benefit and nomination provisions (AI prompt, AI use Yellow). Prompt template, pre-run checklist and verification protocol for using AI to extract a superannuation fund deed's amendment, nomination and death benefit clauses with exact quotations and no legal conclusions.
All precedents for Superannuation. Signed-in accounts can read the full text.