The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) has endorsed the Government's move to introduce 'one touch' consolidation of superannuation as being "in the best interests of all Australians", and has argued the process should also be used for accounts that aren't lost.
However, the industry body also supports the right of members to decline to quote their tax file number (TFN) throughout the process, according to AIST chief executive Fiona Reynolds.
The ATO's SuperSeeker facility should be changed to enable searches without the use of TFNs in the future, she said.
Taxpayers who are searching for lost superannuation through the electronic portability tool must be made aware that their TFN may be passed on to another super fund, Reynolds added. This will enable members who do not want to have their TFN passed on to another fund to ring the new fund directly and request transfer forms, she said.
A major super fund has defended its use of private markets in a submission to ASIC, asserting that appropriate governance and information-sharing practices are present in both public and private markets.
A member body representing some prominent wealth managers is concerned super funds’ dominance is sidelining small companies in capital markets.
Earlier this month, several Australian superannuation funds fell victim to credential stuffing attacks, which saw a small number of members lose more than $500,000.
Small- to medium-sized funds have become collateral damage in an "imperfect" model for super industry levies, a financial institution has said.