Major Tasmanian-based superannuation fund, TasPlan is urging employers to play a greater role in ensuring that workers do not become separated from their superannuation.
And, according to TasPlan’s general manager Neil Cassidy, an important part of obtaining greater cooperation from employers and the general business community will be dispelling the myth that supplying an employee’s current address to a superannuation represents a breach of the Privacy Act.
Cassidy said that one of the primary reasons for workers being separated from the super was changing jobs, particularly where geographic relocation is involved.
“In the worst cases, they even forget that a fund has money invested on their behalf,” he said.
Cassidy said funds were constantly trying to reunite members with their money with one of the simplest ways being to seek the help of an employer.
He said that employers needed to understand that Section 7B of the Privacy Act exempted employee records from the Privacy Act in situations where the employer was providing information to a superannuation fund.
“Acts and practices of employers in relation to employee records as they relate to current and former employment relationships are exempt from the National Privacy Principles,” Cassidy said. “In other words, an employer is doing nothing wrong by helping a super fund update its records.”
