Treasury has increased the maximum rate that large superannuation funds will have to contribute to the supervisory levy for 2012/13, which in part will pay for the implementation of SuperStream.
The Superannuation Supervisory Levy Imposition Determination 2012, which came into effect last Sunday, states that Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)-supervised funds with five or more members will have a maximum restricted levy amount of $2 million.
But last month, Treasury still used a maximum of $1 million per large fund in a paper on the proposed levy.
"The higher restricted component of the superannuation levy results from an increase in the cap on that component to accommodate the separate SuperStream component," Treasury said in the determination.
The $1 million was already an increase of the maximum levy of 2011/12, when the maximum was set at $260,000 per large fund.
The levy amount for this year will be calculated as 0.02434 per cent of a fund's assets.
Large funds will also have to pay an unrestricted levy of 0.006535 per cent of assets.
The Australian Institute for Superannuation Trustees (AIST) said the revision of the maximum amount provided a better balance between the contribution of smaller and larger super funds.
"This is a compromise solution on the levy formula that goes some way to achieving better equity between small and big funds," AIST policy and regulatory manager Tom Garcia said.
"However, going forward, AIST strongly recommends that the system for calculating and setting industry levies be reviewed.
"It is still AIST's view that, in terms of the SuperStream levy, SMSFs (self-managed super funds) must pay their share."
Last month, the AIST said the cost of SuperStream should be spread across the entire industry, based on the market share of the sectors.
This would mean the SMSF industry would have to contribute $38 million to the levy this year, which would be about $80 per fund.
But a contribution from the SMSF industry would have required further regulatory change as these levies are set by the Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Supervisory Levy Imposition Act 1991.
APRA-regulated funds with four members or fewer will have to pay a set amount of $590 per fund under the determination, a figure unchanged from the June paper.
There has been much criticism of the size of the super levy, especially in regard to the amount allocated to the implementation of SuperStream.
Treasury has estimated the amount required at $467 million over the next seven years, but industry groups have argued such a project required extensive costing and tendering processes before an accurate amount could be set.
But with the determination coming into effect on Sunday, the door to further consultation on the size of the levy seems to have been closed.
