The Federal Government will establish a superannuation consumer advocate and has asked the Treasury to recommend a potential provider following a call for expressions of interest, Assistant Treasurer Stuart Robert announced yesterday.
This would be the first step taken by the Government to implement recommendation 28 of the Productivity Commission’s super report, which pushed for an independent, adequately resourced super members’ advocacy body.
The Commission had found that member advocacy was missing from the discourse on super, which instead focused on funds’ and trustees’ interest. “This is at the heart of many problems with the system,” the report said.
As part of the establishment process, the Government had asked the Treasurer to also recommend the potential scope of the advocate’s activities and to formulate accountability, governance and funding arrangements.
Robert cited the complex and compulsory nature of super as a reason such an advocate was vital, noting that the consumer body should have specialist knowledge.
