--- title: "SMSF Property Valuations: How to Get Ready for Audit Season" description: Property held in an SMSF needs solid valuation evidence each year. Here's what auditors look for and how to get ahead of it. image: https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hubfs/Blog%20Images/smsf-property-and-valations-sept-blog.png --- [!["Trekk Advisory" logo: bold black "Trekk" in modern font with smaller red "ADVISORY" below on a white background.](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/trekk-advisory-logo-black%201.png?width=150&height=75&name=trekk-advisory-logo-black%201.png "\"Trekk Advisory\" logo: bold black \"Trekk\" in modern font with smaller red \"ADVISORY\" below on a white background.")](https://trekkadvisory.com.au) - [Featured services](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help) - [Business accounting](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/small-business-accountants) - [Clarity Bookkeeping](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/clarity-bookkeeping) - [Xero cloud accounting](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/xero-cloud-accounting) - [Advice + business advisory](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/business-advisory-services) - [Tax minimisation + planning](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/tax-minimisation-and-planning) - [Self-managed super funds](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/self-managed-super-funds) - [Business Valuations](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/business-valuations) - [How we help](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help) - [Understand your numbers](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help/understanding) - [Grow your numbers](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help/growth) - [Leverage your numbers](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help/leverage) - [Who we are](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/our-team) - [Resources](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre) - [Get in touch](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/contact) - QLD - [Brisbane](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/brisbane) - [Gympie](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/gympie) - [North Queensland](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/north-queensland) - [Rockhampton](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/rockhampton) - NSW - [Northern Rivers](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/northern-rivers) [Download: Success Checklist](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/business-success-checklist) ![Trekk Advisory team members reviewing documents together at a desk.](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hubfs/Blog%20Images/smsf-property-and-valations-sept-blog.png) September 25, 2026 By Eryan Haddon # SMSF Property Valuations: How to Get Ready for Audit Season ##### Share: - - - Property is often one of the biggest assets sitting inside a self-managed super fund, and it comes with a requirement that catches some trustees out each year: every SMSF asset needs to be valued as at 30 June. For something like listed shares, that's straightforward, there's a ready market and a clear price. Property is a different story. It doesn't have a daily quoted value, so trustees need to do a bit more legwork to arrive at a figure their auditor will accept. ### It's the trustee's job to value the asset, not the auditor's Trustees are responsible for determining the market value of the fund's assets. Once the annual financial statements are prepared, the fund's auditor needs to see objective, supportable evidence behind that valuation, not just a number that sounds about right. One option is to bring in a qualified independent valuer. This is worth considering seriously where the property makes up a significant chunk of the fund's total value, or where it's the kind of asset that's genuinely tricky to value. > If a property represents a large share of your fund's balance, an independent valuation is often the simplest way to remove any doubt at audit time. ### If you're not using an independent valuer Where trustees choose not to go down that path, they'll need to support the valuation with evidence from more than one source. For property, that typically looks like: - Recent comparable sales, generally at least three, and genuinely comparable in size and location - A real estate agent appraisal that also references comparable sales - Net income yields for commercial property, though this alone usually isn't enough evidence on its own The ATO's Guide to valuing SMSF assets has some useful detail if you want to check exactly what's expected for your situation. ### Leasing to a related party comes with extra scrutiny If your SMSF holds property that meets the business real property definition, it's possible to lease that property to a business run by a member or a related party. That's allowed, but it doesn't mean the fund can charge whatever rent it likes. Any rental arrangement with a related party needs to sit on arm's length, commercial terms. A useful way to think about it: would these exact lease terms be agreed to if the tenant were a complete stranger? > Auditors aren't just checking that rent is being paid, they're checking that the terms would hold up if the tenant had no connection to the fund at all. To back this up, an auditor will typically want to see: - A properly documented lease - A rent appraisal from when the lease was first entered into - Evidence the arrangement is actually operating in line with the lease terms - Where a previous lease term has expired, evidence the rent has been reset to market value, supported by a fresh appraisal ![Team members discussing business strategy and planning in a business advisory session.](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Images/blog-content-super-oct.png?width=300&height=300&name=blog-content-super-oct.png) ### Why it pays to start early The 2026 financial year audit might still be some months off, but the trustees who find the process smoothest are the ones who start pulling this evidence together now, rather than waiting for the auditor to come asking. This is really just an extension of good record keeping. The same discipline that makes bookkeeping for a business straightforward, keeping documents organised and up to date as things happen rather than after the fact, applies just as well to an SMSF. A fund with tidy records and a folder of appraisals, leases and comparable sales ready to go tends to sail through an audit with far fewer questions. ### A little preparation now saves a headache later Property valuations and related-party leases are two of the areas SMSF auditors look at most closely, and they're also two of the easiest to get ahead of. Gathering appraisals, documenting leases properly and keeping evidence current throughout the year makes the audit itself a formality rather than a scramble. If you're not sure whether your fund's current property evidence would satisfy an auditor, it's worth checking now rather than waiting for audit season. [Contact Trekk Advisory](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/contact) to talk through what your fund might need. *This article is general information only and does not take into account your personal circumstances. Please contact Trekk Advisory to discuss how these requirements may apply to your SMSF.* #### About Author [Eryan Haddon](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre/author/eryan-haddon) Eryan is an Director of Trekk Advisory and operates from our Townsville and Mount Isa offices. She's been in Public Practice for over 20 years because she loves working with business owners to achieve their version of success - whether its more profit, more cash, more time - It's all about being a part of a team and being able to share those 'F\*ck yeah!' moments with her clients when we get results that make a difference. Outside of work, you will probably find her getting ready for a game at the netball courts or touch-field (OR in the car driving her two daughters from one sport to the next). Being active and sharing this with her daughters is something special, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Eryan is all about motivating her team, clients and herself - it's about being strong, confident and humble - so she'll often share little nuggets of wisdom. One of her fave pieces of advice is "Stand up for the things that matter, don't settle, don't apologise for who you are . . . Be f\*cking brave" - Lisa Messenger and she loves a motivational podcast to get her going; Oprah's Super Soul, Crappy to Happy! #### Related Posts [![Trekk Advisory team members reviewing documents together at a desk.](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hubfs/Blog%20Images/smsf-property-and-valations-sept-blog.png)](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre/smsf-property-valuations-how-to-get-ready-for-audit-season) September 24, 2026 #### [SMSF Property Valuations: How to Get...](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre/smsf-property-valuations-how-to-get-ready-for-audit-season) Property is often one of the biggest assets sitting inside a self-managed super fund, and it comes... 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[Read More](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre/smsf-property-borrowing-has-changed-the-key-rules-explained) [![](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hubfs/smsf-trustees-key-steps-july-blog.png)](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre/smsf-trustees-key-steps-to-take-at-the-start-of-2026-27) July 21, 2026 #### [SMSF Trustees: Key Steps to Take at the...](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre/smsf-trustees-key-steps-to-take-at-the-start-of-2026-27) The start of a new financial year brings more than a clean slate for SMSF trustees. It brings... 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