Super reform needed to help indigenous Australia

While the superannuation regime is designed to be universal it needs to be re-examined as it may actually contain blind spots in terms of serving the needs of indigenous Australians, KPMG Australia believes.

KPMG's "Igniting the indigenous economy" report said many indigenous Australians lived in remote and regional areas where depressed labour markets leave a significant number of people dependent on welfare and receiving no super at all.

The report argued that the super system needed to respond better to the unique needs of indigenous people.

KPMG recommended for the super system to:

• Increase indigenous financial literacy through more innovative uses of software tailored specifically for mobile technologies;
• Make financial literacy sessions a mandatory component of the Community Development Program (CDP) scheme;
• Recalibrate identification processes to compensate for a common lack of valid ID, as well as cultural and geographical barriers;
• Increase the $10,000-per-annum limit for early access to superannuation savings in cases of severe hardship for indigenous Australians; and
• Re-assess the appropriateness of providing an insurance benefit, and improve cultural awareness for dealing with indigenous Australian members making insurance claims.