The Government's super guarantee charge (SGC) has held up to the scrutiny of the High Court, with the failure of a case launched by Roy Morgan Research.
The SGC is effectively the Government's only method of enforcing the super guarantee. It gives the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) the power to collect late employer contributions - along with interest calculated at 10 per cent, which is paid to the employee.
Roy Morgan Research argued that the ATO did not have the constitutional power to collect a levy for the "private and direct benefit" of employees, as opposed to the collection of money for "public purposes".
But the High Court judges ruled unanimously that the SGC was a tax, and threw the case out.
Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Bill Shorten said he was pleased the SGC would remain in place to ensure employees were compensated appropriately if their employer was late paying their contributions.
"The SGC plays an important role in the integrity of our superannuation system, and I am pleased to see it will be maintained under this High Court decision," Shorten said.
The research house has offered a silver lining after super fund returns saw the end of a five-month streak last month.
A survey of almost 6,000 fund members has identified weakening retirement confidence, particularly among those under 55 years of age, signalling an opportunity for super funds to better engage with members on their retirement journey.
The funds have confirmed the signing of a successor fund transfer deed, moving closer to creating a new $29 billion entity.
A number of measures, including super on Paid Parental Leave, funding to recover unpaid super, and frameworks to encourage investment in the energy transition, have been welcomed by the superannuation industry.
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