What a structure diagram is for
A current structure diagram answers the same who-owns-what question for several people:
- Onboarding and handovers. A new manager sees in one page that the trading company is owned by the family trust, not by the family.
- Advice meetings. A client follows a restructure far more easily on a drawing than in a list of entities.
- ATO reviews in Australia. In Next 5,000 and Top 500 private groups reviews, the ATO says it typically asks for a chart of the group’s companies, partnerships, trusts and super funds as at 30 June.
- AML/CTF checks in Australia. From 1 July 2026, accountants providing designated services such as restructures must identify beneficial owners: individuals who own 25% or more or otherwise control the client. AUSTRAC doesn’t require a chart, but a current one makes the question quicker to answer.
- Banks and lawyers. Lenders and estate-planning lawyers ask the same who-owns-what questions.
What to show for each entity
One card per entity, with its type at the top and its legal name underneath. The detail on each card depends on the type.
- CompanySchurr Pty LtdDirectors, secretary and every shareholder with their number of shares
- Trustee CompanySchurr Super Fund Pty LtdThe same as a company, plus the trust or fund it’s trustee for
- Trust - DiscretionarySchurr Family TrustTrust type, trustee, appointor and the beneficiaries you can name
- Self Managed Superannuation FundSchurr SuperfundThe trustee (individuals or a company) and every member
- IndividualSchurr, DeanEach individual once, even when they hold several roles
A role or a holding: director, trustee, shareholder, member
Money moving: dividends, distributions, rent, loans
| Entity | Record on the card | Often missed |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Directors, secretary, each shareholder and their number of shares | Share class, when there’s more than one |
| Trustee company | As for a company, plus the trust or fund it acts for | Which hat it’s wearing on each line |
| Discretionary trust | Trustee, appointor, the beneficiaries you can name | The appointor, which is who really controls the trust |
| Unit trust | Trustee and each unitholder with their units | Units held by another trust in the group |
| SMSF | Trustee (individuals or a company) and every member | A corporate trustee shown as the fund itself |
| Individual | Name, once, however many roles they hold | The same person drawn three times |
How to draw the diagram in seven steps
Start from the client group, not a blank page.
List every entity your firm already holds for the family, then add anyone who isn’t a client but matters to the structure, such as an adult child who’s a beneficiary.
Decide the “as at” date and write it on the diagram.
30 June is the natural choice for annual work and matches what the ATO asks for in a review.
Place the entities in three layers.
Put the operating and holding entities at the top, trusts and the super fund in the middle, and individuals at the bottom. Income then reads downwards to the family, and ownership reads upwards.
Draw roles and holdings as plain lines.
Label each line with the role and the holding: “Shareholder, 1,000 shares”, “Trustee”, “Appointor”, “Member”.
Add money flows on their own layer.
Dividends, distributions, rent and loans as arrows with a label. Switch them off when you only need ownership.
Check it against the source records.
Compare it with the company register extract (ASIC in Australia), the trust deed and the fund’s trustee details. A diagram that disagrees with the register is worse than none.
Save it with a version and share it as a PDF.
Keep each year’s version, so next year you can see what changed and when.
A worked example: the Schurr family group
The Schurr group has four entities and four individuals, as at 30 June 2026. Here it is with the money flows switched on.
- Type:
- Company
- Director:
- Schurr, Dean
- Secretary:
- Schurr, Dean
- Shareholder:
- Schurr Family Trust [1000]
- Type:
- Trustee Company
- Director:
- Schurr, Dean
- Secretary:
- Schurr, Dean
- Shareholder:
- Schurr, Dean [1]
Schurr, Melissa [1]
- Type:
- Trust - Discretionary
- Appointor:
- Schurr, Dean
- Beneficiary:
- Schurr, Dean
Schurr, Melissa - Trustee:
- Schurr, Dean
- Type:
- Self Managed Superannuation Fund
- Member:
- Schurr, Dean
Schurr, Melissa - Trustee:
- Schurr Super Fund Pty Ltd
- Schurr, Dean
Schurr, Georgie
Schurr, Isla
Schurr, Melissa
Illustrative AccountKit Client Map. Sample client group and sample details, not live client records.
- Schurr Pty Ltd is the operating company. Dean Schurr is its director and secretary, and its shareholder is the Schurr Family Trust, with 1,000 shares.
- The Schurr Family Trust is a discretionary trust. Dean is the trustee and the appointor, and Dean and Melissa are named beneficiaries.
- The Schurr Superfund is an SMSF with a corporate trustee, Schurr Super Fund Pty Ltd, owned one share each by Dean and Melissa. Both are members.
- Georgie and Isla, Dean and Melissa’s children, aren’t clients of the firm, so they were added to the map by hand.
- Money moves three ways: the company pays dividends to the trust, the trust distributes to the family, and the company rents its premises from the super fund.
Read top to bottom, the drawing shows what the entity list takes a page to explain. The family controls the trading company through the trust, not directly.
Mistakes that make a structure diagram misleading
- No date. Nobody can tell whether it shows last year or next year.
- Current and proposed on one drawing. A client leaves the meeting thinking the restructure has already happened.
- The appointor left off. The trustee runs the trust day to day; the appointor can replace the trustee.
- Percentages without share classes. Fifty per cent of the ordinary shares isn’t fifty per cent of the company if there are other classes.
- The same person drawn several times. Draw each individual once and connect every role to them.
- A diagram that lives in a slide deck. It goes stale the first time a director changes. Keep it with the client record so it’s updated with everything else.
How AccountKit draws structure diagrams
AccountKit’s client mapping tool builds the diagram from the client group, so you don’t start from a blank canvas. Auto Build lays out the entities and adds the relationship lines, and you can add people who aren’t clients.
- Maps can be Current, Historical, Proposed or Sandbox. A Proposed map doesn’t touch client data until you convert it to Current.
- Entities are coloured by type using your practice’s theme.
- Money flows can be shown or hidden, and there’s free drawing for client meetings.
- Export to PDF with your firm’s branding, or PNG, in colour or black and white.
- Client details sync with Xero Practice Manager, one way or two way. A few fields, such as share-class descriptions, don’t sync.
For the loans that run through the same structure, see our guide to reconciling inter-entity loans in Xero.
★★★★★
…Client Maps make it much easier to walk clients through Structure Diagrams…
Questions practices ask
What is a family group structure diagram?
A family group structure diagram is a one-page drawing of every entity in a client group, who owns and controls each one, and how money moves between them, as at a stated date.
Does the ATO require a group structure chart?
Not with every return. In private groups reviews, the ATO says it typically asks for a chart of the group’s companies, partnerships, trusts and super funds as at 30 June, with owners, share percentages and trustee details.
Do I need a structure diagram for AML/CTF in Australia?
AUSTRAC doesn’t require a diagram. From 1 July 2026, accountants providing designated services must identify beneficial owners who own 25% or more or otherwise control the client, and a current diagram makes that faster.
Should the appointor be on a trust structure diagram?
Yes. The appointor can remove and replace the trustee, so leaving them off hides who ultimately controls the trust.
How often should a structure diagram be updated?
At least once a year at the client’s balance date (30 June for most Australian groups), and whenever a director, shareholder, trustee or beneficiary changes. Keep each year’s version.
Sources
This guide is general information, not advice for a particular client. Check the ATO guidance current at the time you rely on it.
- ATO: preparing for a review, group structure Checked 1 October 2026
- ATO: Next 5,000 private groups tax performance program Checked 1 October 2026
- AUSTRAC: professional designated services Checked 1 October 2026
- AUSTRAC: initial customer due diligence overview Checked 1 October 2026
- AccountKit support: Client Map Checked 1 October 2026
