Industry superannuation fund Rest has reported that since Saturday, 25 April, it has processed an average of 12,500 payments to the value of approximately $90 million per business day.
The fund said it has received 122,294 applications from the Australian Taxation Office so far, with requests totaling a combined value of $874 million.
Rest CEO Vicki Doyle noted that around 95 per cent of all applications received have already been paid out, but the speed at which money is reaching members does depend on how quickly the individual’s bank or credit union will process the payment.
In addition, “about 3 per cent of all applications – 4,440 – have been flagged for extra verification as part of the processes we have in place to keep members’ money safe from fraud and money laundering”.
Ms Doyle said these applications will likely extend beyond the five-day window, and she acknowledged this as a source of frustration for members: “Many of these members are in a desperate situation, and we are determined to make sure these applications are finalised as quickly as possible.”
While Rest does have a dedicated team reviewing these applications every day and is looking at ways it can speed up its processes, the CEO flagged Rest’s “clear obligation to our members to ensure all these payments are legitimate”.
“We take our responsibilities to protect our members from fraud and money laundering very seriously.”
The industry super fund indicated it had already identified and stopped a number of fraudulent applications, with Ms Doyle commenting that “when you have 650 times more requests, you have a heightened risk of fraud”.
“Superannuation funds are targeted by criminal organisations and individuals looking to make fraudulent withdrawal attempts. Ultimately, our members will bear the cost of successful fraud attempts, so it’s critical we apply an appropriate level of security checks to transactions.”
Rest would usually receive around 100 applications for early access to superannuation under existing financial hardship and compassionate grounds provisions.
In the first week of the new scheme, it received approximately 65,000 applications.
“When you consider that we, and our administrator AAS, have had around four weeks to boost our capacity so we can handle an increase from 100 to 65,000 applications per week, I’m pleased we’ve been able to average 12,000 payments per business day,” Ms Doyle offered.
According to the super fund, the number of applications it has received from the ATO so far is “significantly below” its own forecasts and continues to trend downwards.
Despite this, Rest said it remains comfortably placed to meet payment requests to members should they increase in the future.
