The Federal Court has ordered Colonial First State Investments Limited (CFSIL), as trustee for the Colonial First State FirstChoice Superannuation Trust (FirstChoice Fund), to pay a penalty of $20 million for misleading communications with members.
The court previously declared CFS had breached the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions (ASIC) Act and Corporations Act when communicating to members on at least 12,978 occasions.
According to the regulator, the misleading or deceptive conduct by CFS included:
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said: “The $20 million penalty handed down to Colonial is a timely reminder to superannuation trustees not to mislead members for their own benefit. Trustees have an obligation to provide their members with balanced and accurate information that enables them to make informed decisions about their retirement savings.
“Superannuation represents the future financial security of all Australians. We want to see funds operate in a way that is fair for members and promotes confidence in superannuation.”
According to ASIC, in his decision, Justice Murphy found that Colonial’s conduct “involved false or misleading representations made to approximately 13,000 members of the fund, in a concerted campaign which went on for more than two years” and that “its contravening conduct involved, in effect, seeking to take advantage of members whose interests it was, as trustee of the fund, duty-bound to protect.”
Colonial was also ordered to publish an Adverse Publicity Order and to pay ASIC’s costs.
The pace of economic growth in Australia is expected to “grind higher over coming quarters” off the back of lower inflation, falling interest rates, and a robust labour market, Deloitte has said.
The superannuation sector has welcomed confirmation that a controversial US tax provision will be removed.
A new analysis from environmental finance group Market Forces has reportedly discovered that AustralianSuper is on the b...
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has held talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, intensifying efforts to resolve concerns over section 899 of the proposed “Big Beautiful Bill” in the United States.