SPAA accredits first university SMSF course

Two new self-managed superannuation fund courses offered by the University of Adelaide have become the first ever university courses to be accredited by the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA).

The Certificate in Self Managed Super Funds and the Professional Certificate in Self Managed Super Funds are also the first university-level SMSF courses offered in Australia, according to SPAA chief executive Andrea Slattery.

She said the courses, accredited on Monday, represent the “first time a university has been in the SMSF space during the two-and-a-half years SPAA has been accrediting courses.

“Previously, it’s always been either a registered training organisation (RTO) or a TAFE or an organisation that has decided to set up a form of delivery.”

Slattery said the new courses were a “unique opportunity for our member SMSF specialist advisers to grow their own professional knowledge”.

She said the two courses had met SPAA’s accreditation criteria “with an 83 per cent quality rating, which is very high considering our rigorous independent course evaluation process”.

The Certificate in Self Managed Super Funds is a post-graduate delivery course that will enable people who are not within the university system.

“It will enable them to acquire a qualification under our continued professional development (CPD) option at a significant level,” Slattery said.

The professional certificate is available for people who are studying at Adelaide University at post-graduate and masters level.

“These students will be able to do the new course as a minor or a major as part of, say, their masters in law study,” she said.