Only two industry superannuation funds have been the subject of Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) infringement notices over the past five years with the total combined penalties amounting to less than $25,000.
Hostplus was this year issued with an infringement notice amounting to $12,600 over alleged misleading claims around “independent advice” while in 2013 Media Super paid $10,200 after it was found to have produced potentially misleading advertisements when comparing Media Super funds to self-managed superannuation funds.
Answering a question on notice from Senate Estimates, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) confirmed that Hostplus and Media Super were the only funds to have been dealt with and listed on the regulator’s Infringement Notice Register.
The chair of the Senate Economics Committee, Tim Wilson had specifically asked the chair of ASIC, James Shipton the accumulated total of ASIC fines on industry superannuation funds.
As part of its answer, ASIC pointed out that infringement notices were not specifically enforceable by the regulator.
“An infringement notice is not the same as a fine because there is no requirement to pay the amount stated in the infringement notice and, if the relevant entity does not pay the infringement notice, ASIC cannot enforce the infringement notice,” it said.
“The consequence of not responding and paying the infringement notice amount is the prospect of court action in relation to the conduct the infringement notice was originally trying to address.”
The research house has offered a silver lining after super fund returns saw the end of a five-month streak last month.
A survey of almost 6,000 fund members has identified weakening retirement confidence, particularly among those under 55 years of age, signalling an opportunity for super funds to better engage with members on their retirement journey.
The funds have confirmed the signing of a successor fund transfer deed, moving closer to creating a new $29 billion entity.
A number of measures, including super on Paid Parental Leave, funding to recover unpaid super, and frameworks to encourage investment in the energy transition, have been welcomed by the superannuation industry.
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