A South Melbourne man has been convicted and fined $6000 in the Melbourne Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed financial services business promoting the early release of retirement savings benefits through SMSFs.

Treasury has released draft legislation indicating how SMSF assets being held under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) will be included against a member’s total superannuation balance.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten’s suggestion that a ban on the use of direct borrowing by SMSFs should be revisited to help cool an overheated housing market has been labelled a poor attempt to attack the sector as statistics show no link to systemic risks.