Steidler and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Taxation)

The applicants, Steidler and others, sought review of a decision by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to issue a notice of non-compliance under section 40 of the *Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993* (SIS Act). The matter came before Deputy President S A Forgie of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The core of the dispute concerned whether the applicants were entitled to seek a review of APRA's decision, given their status as beneficiaries of a trust.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether APRA had made a decision confirming or varying its initial decision to issue the notice of non-compliance, as required for an application for review to the Tribunal. Secondly, the Tribunal had to consider whether the applicants, as beneficiaries of the relevant trust, qualified as "persons affected by a reviewable decision" under section 344(12) of the SIS Act, thereby having standing to seek review.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 344(12) of the SIS Act significantly limits who is considered a "person affected by a reviewable decision." It provides that, with specific exceptions not relevant here, a person is only taken to be affected if they are a trustee of a superannuation entity that is affected by the decision. The applicants, being beneficiaries and not trustees, did not fall within this definition. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that no decision confirming or varying APRA's initial notice of non-compliance had been made, which is a prerequisite for an application for review under section 344(8) of the SIS Act. Consequently, the Tribunal found it had no jurisdiction to review the decision.