Corporate Trustee for an SMSF: Full Cost Breakdown (2026)
A corporate trustee for your self-managed super fund (SMSF) is a special-purpose Pty Ltd company whose only job is being the trustee of your fund. Here is what it actually costs to set up and run in 2026 – no marketing fluff.
Setup cost – $696 all-in
- ASIC company registration fee: $636 (set by ASIC, indexed every 1 July).
- Service fee (Cheap Company Setup): $60.
- Total: $696.
The $60 service fee includes the trustee-specific constitution (SMSF sole-purpose), the ACN Certificate of Registration, member and director consents, share registers and lodgement direct with ASIC under our registered agent number (ASIC Agent 36194). Start your SMSF trustee company.
Ongoing cost – $70 per year
ASIC charges an annual review fee to keep any Pty Ltd company registered. A special-purpose company whose constitution restricts it to acting as an SMSF trustee qualifies for the reduced annual review fee of $70 in 2026 (compared to $342 for a standard Pty Ltd – see our full ASIC fees 2026 breakdown).
To qualify for the reduced fee, the constitution must limit the company to acting as trustee of a superannuation fund and prohibit dividends. Our trustee-specific constitution is drafted to meet this test.
What is not included in the $696
- The SMSF itself. The corporate trustee is the company that acts as trustee – you still need a trust deed to establish the SMSF (typically $150-$400 from a specialist deed provider) and ATO registration.
- The bare trust for a property LRBA – if you are borrowing inside super, you need a separate bare trust trustee company.
- Annual SMSF admin, accounting and audit – separate services from your SMSF administrator.
Is it worth it vs individual trustees?
For almost every SMSF, yes. See our detailed individual vs corporate trustee comparison – the short version is that member changes, ATO penalty protection and lender preference for a corporate trustee usually make the $696 one-off and $70 per year the cheapest structure over the life of the fund.
This is general information about SMSF corporate trustee costs in Australia. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. ASIC fees are set by ASIC and indexed annually – always verify current fees at asic.gov.au.
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