SUPERANNUATION – AUSTRALIA – REGULATION

Overeach for ASIC to fine us, says big super

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 14-Mar-25

Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Joe Longo has labelled the superananuation sector the "poster child" for governance failures, with Mary Delahunty saying Longo’s comments are an "overeach". Delahunty is from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, which is the lobby group for the superannuation industry, with ASIC seeking to impose fines on AustralianSuper over its alleged failure to deal with thousands of death benefit claims in a prompt manner. However, Delahunty believes ASIC should use methods such as enforceable undertakings to regulate the industry, rather than fines.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION,(SPACE)THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED,(SPACE)AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD

Cbus union payments in the spotlight

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 4-Dec-24

Deloitte has made 26 recommendations following its independent review of payments made by construction industry superannuation fund Cbus to the CFMEU. A spokesman for Cbus has indicated that it will accept ‘in principle’ all of the recommendations in Deloitte’s report, and it will work with the accounting firm to develop an action plan to implement each of the recommendations. Amongst other things, Deloitte concluded that Cbus lacked appropriate procedures to ensure that payments to the union were in accordance with its requirement to act in the best financial interest of members.

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CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Watchdog puts super funds on conflict notice

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Jess Malcolm
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Oct-23

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has reiterated that the nation’s superannuation funds must comply with their regulatory requirements, such as acting in the best financial interests of their members and avoiding conflicts of interests. Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has raised concerns about Cbus’s decision to invest $500m in the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund in late 2022. Bragg alleged that Cbus chairman Wayne Swan has a conflict of interests, given that he is Labor’s president and a former federal treasurer. Bragg notes that Cbus is the only super fund that has committed to investing in the HAFF.

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AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND

Failing super funds retain 1m members

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Nov-21

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that 1.1 million superannuation fund members have been advised that their fund has failed the new performance test. However, just 68,000 of these members responded by switching funds. Xavier O’Halloran of Super Consumers Australia says that some funds which failed the test have promoted benefits such as discounts on leisure activities in order to retain members. Brendan Coates of the Grattan Institute has in turn called for further reforms in the super sector, including the introduction of a shortlist of top-performing default super funds.

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AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, SUPER CONSUMERS AUSTRALIA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Stapling workers to lazy super funds could cost them $300,000: AIST

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 17 : 28-Oct-21

More than $56bn of workers’ retirement savings are invested in default superannuation funds that recently failed a performance test. This test was introduced as part of the ‘Your Future, Your Super’ reforms, which also include "stapling" workers to one superannuation account throughout their career. The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees’ CEO Eva Scheerlinck has called for changes to the stapling regime to ensure that workers are not tied to a persistently underperforming fund.

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AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES

APRA probes super fund pain

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Original article by Gerard Cockburn
The Australian – Page: 16 : 25-Jun-20

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will increase its oversight of the nation’s superannuation funds in response to the coronavirus pandemic. APRA will require super funds to provide it with a range of data on both a monthly and quarterly basis for the duration of the health crisis. Amongst other things, APRA is concerned about the impact of the federal government’s early access scheme is having on super funds, with almost $16bn having been withdrawn to date.

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AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

APRA to probe super payouts

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 17 : 1-May-20

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority generally expects superannuation funds to release money under the federal government’s early access scheme within five business days. APRA requires super funds to provide it with a range of data every week regarding the early access regime, and a spokesman says it is prepared to pursue enforceable action against funds that do not pay eligible members within an appropriate time-frame. APRA is collecting both industry-level and fund-level data, which will be publicly disclosed.

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AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Wary APRA orders more stress-tests for banks

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 30-Aug-19

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority currently undertakes "stress-testing" of the nation’s banks every three years. However, growing concern about the outlook for the domestic and global economies is believed to have prompted APRA to conduct annual stress tests. APRA’s latest corporate also shows that the performance of superannuation funds will also be a focus for the prudential regulator over the next few years; this will include ranking super funds based on a range of metrics.

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AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Mergers loom as regulator changes tactics

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 18-Jul-19

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres concedes that regulating superannuation funds is more problematic than banks, as the latter are not subject to capital requirements. Ian Fryer of Chant West says APRA will be much more proactive in regulating the super industry in the wake of its capability review, adding that increased regulatory attention may accelerate consolidation in the sector. Cbus also anticipates merger activity in the sector as underperforming funds come under greater scrutiny.

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AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

AustralianSuper declares war on DIY funds

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Mar-19

AustralianSuper CEO Ian Silk will use a speech in Brisbane on 13 March to argue for greater regulation of self-managed superannuation funds. He will tell the Conference of Major Super Funds of the need for an inquiry into the performance of SMSFs. Research by the Productivity Commission has concluded that SMSFs that hold less than $500,000 tend to perform much worse than regular super funds. Silk will also argue that super funds which consistently underperform should not be allowed to remain in business.

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AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, CONFERENCE OF MAJOR SUPERANNUATION FUNDS (CMSF) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY