A bill recently tabled in parliament has brought trustees closer to the ability to approve SMSF documents without a physical signature.

An application for a director identification number will only be required once regardless of when it is used or activated.

SMSF trustees are advised to closely consider the use of off-the-shelf trust deeds as poorly written documents are at the centre of many legal disputes.

Despite government moves to allow the use of electronic signatures, their application in the SMSF space will still be fairly limited.

SMSF trustees may be limited in their use of any measures allowing the use of digital signatures to approve fund documents due to their email set-ups.

SMSFs can be setup with either individual or corporate trustees but the latter has useful advantages which are ideally suited for the self-managed super sector.