On Wednesday, the funds confirmed that the merger will not go ahead “following discussions and extensive due diligence”.

It was also revealed that the significant changes in the “regulatory and commercial environments” played a factor in the decision.

“Our members’ interests have always been at the core of this proposed merger and after very careful consideration we’re confident the best outcome is for both funds to continue independently,” NGS Super chair, Dick Shearman, said.

ACS chair David Hutton added: “We also remain committed to acting in the best financial interests of our members and will continue with our strategy to achieve greater scale into the future.”

The merger was first announced in mid-August 2020 that was to create a $21 billion superannuation fund.

The resulting combined fund would have around 200,000 members in the independent and Catholic school and community sectors.