In short
- In a self-managed super fund, some gold and silver can count as collectables, which carry extra rules.
- A bullion coin counts as a collectable in an SMSF only if it is worth more than its face value and sells for more than the spot price of the metal in it.
- Collectables carry extra rules: insurance in the fund’s name within seven days, no storage in a related party’s home, and a written record of where they are kept.
- Whether gold bars count as collectables is not settled in any ATO source found so far.
You may already hold some silver or gold at home, and wonder whether your super fund could hold it too. The fund is not you, though, and the ATO sets extra rules for some of what it holds.
First, which kind of super?
Super funds include large funds run for you, and self-managed funds, or SMSFs, where you make the choices.
An interest in an SMSF is a financial product. Recommending that someone set up or use an SMSF needs an adviser covered by an AFS licence, the licence ASIC issues for financial advice. So this page explains the rules. Whether an SMSF suits you is a question for a licensed adviser.
When a coin counts as a collectable
In a self-managed super fund, a bullion coin is treated as a collectable only if it is worth more than its face value and sells for more than the spot price of the metal in it. Collectables carry extra rules, such as insurance in the fund’s name within seven days.
Both tests have to be met. The second compares the coin’s selling price with the spot price of its metal, so any premium above spot counts.
And bars?
No ATO source found so far says whether gold or silver bars held by an SMSF are collectables. So this page does not say either way.
The rules for collectables
Where something the fund holds is a collectable, the ATO’s rules go further than insurance:
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Insurance | In the fund’s name within seven days |
| Storage | Not in a related party’s private residence |
| Record | A written record of the decision on where it is stored |
| Sale to a related party | At market value set by a qualified, independent valuer |
In words: a collectable held by the fund must be insured in the fund’s name within seven days. It cannot be stored in a related party’s private residence. The trustees keep a written record of the decision on where it is stored. And if it is ever sold to a related party, the price is market value, set by a qualified, independent valuer.
GST and paying a dealer
On GST and a dealer’s ID and cash checks, see Getting silver from a dealer in Australia.
If the metal is kept with the Perth Mint, the Western Australian Government, through its Treasurer, guarantees payment of the cash equivalent of gold the Perth Mint owes under its Act. The guarantee is on what the Mint owes. It is not a guarantee on bars or coins you already hold.
Metal funds instead of metal
Some funds hold gold for you and trade on the share market. A gold fund of this kind may be a managed investment scheme; the Global X Gold Bullion ETF is a registered one. That is a different thing to own from a bar in a vault, and the collectable rules above are about physical metal.
When the fund sells
Under the law today, super funds that own an asset for at least 12 months get a one-third discount on the capital gain (33.33 per cent). Act No. 49 of 2026 changes how capital gains are taxed from 1 July 2027. Whether and how that change applies to super funds is not yet settled.
My own view
Silver is the metal I prefer, because I see it as more than a store of value. It’s just an opinion. You don’t have to like it or agree with it.
Where this leaves you
If your fund can hold metal, the questions are clear: is it a collectable, where will it be kept, and who has it insured? Your fund’s accountant can confirm how each rule applies to you.
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Education only, not personal or financial advice.