Many people are surprised to learn that some of their largest assets may not be covered by their will. With recent changes affecting testamentary trusts and ongoing complexity around superannuation death benefits, now is a good time to review your arrangements.

New rules announced in the 2026-27 Federal Budget, combined with the growing complexity of superannuation death benefits, mean that it’s worth reviewing your arrangements to make sure your wishes can be carried out.

Testamentary trusts under the spotlight

Testamentary trusts have long been a popular estate planning tool because they can provide asset protection, flexibility and potential tax advantages for beneficiaries, particularly children.

The 2026-27 Federal Budget announced a new 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts, including testamentary trusts (those established by a will), from 1 July 2028.

Following an outcry over what some called a “death tax”, the government announced exemptions for testamentary trusts, along with others including fixed trusts, special disability trusts and charitable trusts.

While the final shape of the rules remains uncertain, the Budget changes highlight the importance of ensuring estate planning arrangements are reviewed regularly.

The risks of an outdated will

Many people prepare a will and then leave it in a drawer for decades. But your personal and financial circumstances can significantly change over time.

Marriage, divorce, the birth of children or grandchildren, the death of beneficiaries, changes in asset ownership, or business succession arrangements can all affect whether an existing will still achieves the intended outcome.

Outdated wills can result in assets passing to unintended beneficiaries, family disputes and missed opportunities to achieve tax-effective outcomes.

So, review your will regularly and particularly after major life events occur.

Who gets your super?

One of the most common estate planning misunderstandings is assuming superannuation automatically forms part of an estate.

In most cases, superannuation benefits are not governed by your will. Instead, the trustee of the super fund determines who receives the death benefit unless a valid nominated beneficiary is in place.

A binding death benefit nomination allows you to direct the trustee of your super fund to pay your death benefit to specific beneficiaries.

Without a valid binding nomination, the trustee generally has discretion to decide who receives the benefit, subject to the fund’s governing rules and superannuation law.

Not all nominations remain effective indefinitely. Some funds require nominations to be renewed periodically, while others allow non-lapsing nominations.

Who qualifies as a dependant?

For superannuation purposes, the definition of a dependant is often different from what you might expect.

Generally, dependants may include:

• a spouse or de facto partner
• former spouses in some circumstances
• children of any age
• individuals who are financially dependent on the deceased

It may also include people in an “interdependency relationship” with the deceased. An interdependency relationship can exist where two people have a close personal relationship, live together and provide financial or domestic support to one another.

Importantly, being a beneficiary under a will does not automatically make someone a superannuation dependant.

The tax consequences can be significant

The tax treatment of superannuation death benefits depends heavily on who receives the money.

If a death benefit is paid to a tax dependant, the benefit is generally received tax-free. Tax dependants include spouses, children under 18 years of age and people who were financially dependent on the deceased or in an interdependency relationship.

But adult children are often surprised to learn they may not qualify as tax dependants. If an adult child is financially independent, tax may apply to some components of a lump-sum superannuation death benefit.

As super balances continue to grow, the potential tax difference between payments to dependants and non-dependants can be substantial. This makes beneficiary nominations and estate planning decisions particularly important.

A coordinated approach is essential

Effective estate planning requires consideration of more than just a will. Superannuation nominations, testamentary trust structures, tax consequences and changing family circumstances should all form part of the conversation.

A regular review can help ensure your estate plan remains aligned with your objectives, takes account of current legislation and minimises the risk of unintended outcomes for your beneficiaries.

Please get in touch for information and advice about your estate planning and to confirm that it reflects your wishes.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

It’s impossible to miss the buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s changing the way we work and live – but if you haven’t yet started dabbling in it, it might seem a little intimidating.  

The language sounds technical, the tools look unfamiliar, and the speed at which everything is evolving can make it seem as though you are already behind. It is completely reasonable to feel hesitant or avoid the platforms that use AI altogether.

However, if you are not using AI, you might be in the minority. The statistics show that roughly 66 per cent of people globally use AI regularly and that figure is growing all the time, so it might be worth overcoming your reticence.

The truth is you do not need to have an in depth understanding of how AI works in order to use it well. At its core, AI responds to conversation. If you can explain a situation, describe a goal, or ask questions, you already have the skill that matters most.

Turn overwhelm into order

One of the most immediate ways AI can improve your life is by helping you organise your thinking when everything feels scattered. When your to do list feels endless and your priorities become a blur, it becomes difficult to get started.

For example, you might write:
“Here is everything on my mind this week. Turn this into a prioritised action plan for the next three days, highlighting what is urgent and what can wait.” 

Seeing your responsibilities organised clearly often creates immediate relief. What felt chaotic becomes sequenced. And when you know what to focus on first, it becomes easier to begin.

Accelerate the way you learn

Learning something new often feels slow, not because it is too difficult, but because it lacks structure. Without a clear starting point, it is easy to consume random information and still feel unsure about what truly matters.

AI can help you create that structure. You might prompt:
“Create a simple 30-day roadmap to help me become competent in [skill]. Focus on fundamentals first and tell me what I can ignore at the beginning.” 

That final sentence is powerful. Knowing what not to focus on prevents distraction. Instead of wandering through endless content, you follow a deliberate path.

Make decisions with greater clarity

Decision making becomes stressful when emotion clouds judgment, especially when the outcome feels important. In those moments, laying out the situation clearly and asking for a structured breakdown of potential risks, trade-offs, and implications can create valuable distance.

You could say:
“I am deciding between Option A and Option B. Break down the pros, cons, risks, and likely long-term implications of each.” 

The goal is not to hand over responsibility, but to organise your thinking. Once trade-offs are laid out clearly, the right direction often feels less overwhelming.

Strengthen your thinking before you act

Another powerful way to use AI is to invite it to challenge your plans before the real world does. By asking where your strategy might fail or what assumptions you could be overlooking, you move from hopeful thinking to resilient thinking.

Try a simple prompt such as:
“Critique this plan. Where could it fail? What assumptions am I making?” 

This can reveal blind spots you may not have considered. Identifying weaknesses early allows you to refine your approach while the stakes are still manageable.

Build systems that reduce mental strain

Many people rely on motivation to carry them toward their goals, yet motivation is unpredictable. AI can help you design simple, repeatable systems that remove the need to constantly decide what to do next.

For example:
“Design a simple weekly system that ensures I consistently make progress toward [goal], with clear actions and checkpoints.” 

Instead of relying on how you feel each day, you follow a rhythm. Over time, small consistent actions compound into meaningful results.

The real shift

New tools often appear complex until we realise how simply they can be used.

When approached as a thinking partner rather than a technical system, AI becomes less about innovation and more about clarity. You do not need to be highly technical. You just need curiosity and a willingness to ask thoughtful questions – and be open to where the answers take you.

Without a valid binding nomination, the trustee generally has discretion to decide who receives the benefit, subject to the fund’s governing rules and superannuation law.

Not all nominations remain effective indefinitely. Some funds require nominations to be renewed periodically, while others allow non-lapsing nominations.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month.

We are all about keeping you informed and empowered and this month’s economic and market video provides a quick overview of the shifting Australian economic landscape and what’s driving market movements.

The big news was the RBA lifting the official cash rate to 4.60%, introducing new headwinds for local markets and households.

Markets navigated a challenging month characterised by persistent geopolitical stress in the Middle East, rising bond yields, and stubborn inflation fears.

Meanwhile a softer Australian Dollar and a retreat in consumer sentiment reflected growing caution.

Click here to view our update.

Please get in touch  if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

If the financial markets could talk, then bonds would probably be saying: “We’re not convinced the story is over yet”.

Bond yields have been rising around the world as investors reassess the outlook for inflation, economic growth and government borrowing. The moves have been significant enough to influence mortgage rates, government finances and investment portfolios.

Experienced bond investors will be well aware of what’s been happening. For everyone else, the developments offer the chance to understand why professional investors see the bond market as one of the economy’s most important barometers.

You might never have bought a bond, researched a bond ETF or checked the yield on a government bond. But there’s a good chance that bonds already play a role in your investment portfolio through your superannuation account.

That’s one reason the recent attention on bond markets matters.

Looking back

To understand why bonds are attracting attention now, it helps to take a look back.

From the early 1980s to around 2020, developed economies experienced one of the longest declines in interest rates and bond yields in modern history. Falling inflation, globalisation, technological advances and relatively stable economic conditions helped drive yields steadily lower.

Following the Global Financial Crisis and then the COVID-19 pandemic, many government bond yields fell to historically low levels. In some countries, investors were even willing to accept negative yields.

That changed dramatically from 2022 onwards as inflation surged. Central banks, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, responded by rapidly increasing interest rates.

The rapid increase in yields created short-term pain for existing bond investors but ultimately restored something that had been largely missing from bond markets for years: meaningful income.

Today, many commentators believe the era of ultra-low bond yields may be over. While inflation has eased from its peak, investors are increasingly questioning whether interest rates will return to the unusually low levels that prevailed during the 2010s.

What’s happening in Australia?

Australian bond yields have moved higher during 2026 as investors responded to stronger than expected inflation and economic activity, and commentators are not confident that inflation will return quickly to the Reserve Bank’s target range.

Three-year government bond yields moved above 5%, while 10-year bond yields approached levels not seen for more than a decade.

Higher yields affect far more than investment portfolios. Governments face increased borrowing costs, businesses pay more to raise capital, and lending rates throughout the economy may come under upward pressure.

The global picture

But Australia is not alone. Across the world, governments are issuing large amounts of debt to fund spending commitments, infrastructure projects and budget deficits.

Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned about the risks of geopolitical tensions, inflation uncertainty and rising levels of government debt.

Meanwhile, BlackRock notes that government borrowing is increasingly competing with private-sector demand for capital, helping push long-term yields higher in many countries. Its investment team believes that higher yields have created attractive income opportunities, but investors need to be more selective than in the past.

Understanding duration

‘Duration’ is one of the most important concepts in bond investing.

It measures how sensitive a bond’s price is to changes in interest rates. Generally speaking, the longer a bond’s duration, the more its price will move when rates change.

For example, a 10-year bond will usually experience greater price movements than a two-year bond if market interest rates rise or fall.

That helps explain why some bonds can experience significant short-term losses even when the issuer is considered financially secure. Investors often focus on credit risk, but interest-rate risk can be just as important.

The sharp rise in global yields over recent years has highlighted the importance of duration. Longer-dated bonds, which benefited hugely when rates were falling, were among the hardest hit when yields moved higher.

The bottom line

After years of being overlooked, bonds are once again demanding investors’ attention with higher yields providing more income than for much of the last decade.

At the same time, the rising yields are a reminder that bonds are not risk-free and that issues such as duration, inflation and government borrowing matter.

Although forecasts differ on the precise direction of interest rates, there appears to be broad agreement that investors should prepare for a more complex bond market.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month.

Australia’s economic performance over August was characterised by a distinct “two-speed” slowdown, where inflation pressures persisted amidst overall subdued growth.

Rapidly rising discretionary spending along with global uncertainties may mean another interest rate rise in September or November.

Global stock markets performed strongly, despite geopolitical tensions and shifting rate hike expectations.

Click here to view our update.

Please get in touch  if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd