Federal Treasurer Peter Costello may have kicked a goal in terms of superannuation policy in the Federal Budget, but the superannuation industry has significantly marked down his performance.
The latest IUS/Super Review Super Outlook survey reveals that while most industry respondents believe the Federal Government has done a generally good job with respect to superannuation policy development and implementation, Costello himself has fallen short of expectations.
Asked to rate the performance of the Federal Government with respect to improving Australia’s superannuation regime, a significant majority of respondents said they believed the Government had either made a ‘big improvement’ (6.9 per cent) or a ‘moderate improvement’ (51.7 per cent).
In comparison, the same respondents rated the performance of Costello much more poorly. Only 1.4 per cent rated his performance as ‘excellent’, and 20.7 per cent rating it as ‘good’. In contrast, 45.5 per cent rated his performance on superannuation as ‘poor’.
Following the roundtable, the Treasurer said the government plans to review the superannuation performance test, stressing that the review does not signal its abolition.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has placed superannuation front and centre in its 2025-26 corporate plan, signalling a period of intensified scrutiny over fund expenditure, governance and member outcomes.
Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has become a substantial shareholder in Tabcorp, taking a stake of just over 5 per cent in the gaming and wagering company.
AustralianSuper CEO Paul Schroder has said the fund will stay globally diversified but could tip more money into Australia if governments speed up decisions and provide clearer, long-term settings – warning any mandated local investment quota would be “a disaster”.