Industry funds accused of ‘bullying and intimidating’ the government

Industry Super Australia has gone on the offensive, warning members that it is in their financial interest to see the legislated super guarantee increase come to fruition in their latest advertising campaign.

During a house economics committee on Monday, Mr Wilson said the intent of ISA’s latest advertising campaign was to intimidate politicians into siding with the big superannuation funds.

“When you have entities that are established for the purpose of return to members of their own money, and potentially up to $10 million is being spent to try and intimidate politicians into doing their job as elected by the people of Australia, with a clear bullying and intimidatory tone, how is that justified?” Mr Wilson asked APRA.

While the member claimed bullying, APRA chair Wayne Byres said they do not directly control and there was no “black and white rule” on advertising and that the regulator was now looking at the campaign after becoming aware of it last week, but that it would have difficulty intervening against Industry Super Australia (ISA).

Industry funds accused of ‘bullying and intimidating’ the government

“Clearly, it’s a campaign by an industry association – the members of that industry association obviously contribute to that – but we don’t directly control an industry association. So, we have to look at the circumstances by which funds decide and make judgements about their participation and the value they extract from being part of an industry association,” Mr Byres said.

Mr Wilson, who has held the view that superannuation should be options and used for housing, said the ISA’s latest campaign does not align with the sole purpose test governing superannuation funds.

APRA deputy chair Helen Rowell added that the regulator “had not yet formed a view” on whether there had been breaches, while highlighting that the prudential regulator is still currently investigating 12 superannuation funds.

The deputy chair pointed out that ISA had dramatically increased its advertising as the Morrison government weighs a potential cut or freeze to the SG increase.

Ms Rowell said that APRA was assessing the analysis undertaken by industry funds to understand the efficacy of advertising and how it benefited members over time.

“It’s fair to say that if we are going to find anything in our work, it is going to be that that analysis and evidence probably isn’t as robust as it needs to be,” Ms Rowell said.

“That would be an understatement,” Mr Wilson replied.

“We ask questions of super funds through this committee and most of them admitted that they’ve done no performance evaluation of their advertising campaigns.”

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About the author

Cameron Micallef and Lachlan Maddock

Cameron is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He enjoys giving Aussies practical financial tips and tricks to help grow their wealth and achieve financial independence. As a self-confessed finance nerd, Cameron enjoys chatting with industry experts and commentators to leverage their insights to grow your portfolio.

About the author

Cameron Micallef and Lachlan Maddock

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