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ASIC reviews ‘lead generators’ pushing super switching
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is reviewing financial advice licensees that use lead generation services to cold call consumers and pressure them into switching their superannuation into less regulated funds.
The regulator has published a list of known entities involved in lead generation and will investigate whether they are complying with their legal obligations. ASIC stresses that being named on the list does not indicate any wrongdoing, but warns consumers should exercise additional caution when engaging with these businesses.
ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland warned that thousands of consumers have been misled about their current fund’s performance and convinced to switch into high-risk investments, with many losing their entire retirement savings.
Consumers are urged to hang up on unsolicited calls and watch for warning signs such as pressure to act immediately, claims their existing fund is underperforming, and promises of unrealistic returns. ASIC says it will use its full range of enforcement tools if serious harm is identified.
Super funds falling short on scam protection
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) says superannuation trustees need to strengthen anti-scam and fraud practices following a review that identified significant gaps in communications for members.
“Our latest review of superannuation website content confirmed that super funds often lacked clarity, accessibility and support for scam victims. When benchmarked against other industries, super funds fell short for victims,” ASIC commissioner Simone Constant said.
The review assessed scam and fraud-related website content across 47 super funds and benchmarked them against comparable website content from the big four banks. It found that while banks scored positively in over 80% of the criteria assessed, most super funds scored positively against just 40–60% of the same criteria.
“It is time for super trustees to step up and minimise scam and fraud risks to members, which according to the National Anti-Scam Centre, suffered $22 million in losses from super-related scams in 2025,” Constant said.
“Super trustees have a clear and unavoidable responsibility to oversee risk and ensure these emerging threats are identified and managed actively. Yet scam and fraud prevention, detection and response capabilities are still not sufficiently addressing risks to members,” she added.
Key areas identified for improvement were availability of relevant information, quality of information and inclusion of actionable information.
Cap on retirement account balances to increase on 1 July
The general transfer balance cap (TBC) is set to increase for the second year in a row, following a 3.8% increase in the consumer price index (CPI) over the year to December 2025.
As of 1 July, the transfer balance cap will be $2.1 million, after increasing to $2 million from $1.9 million on 1 July last year.
The transfer balance cap is the limit on how much can be transferred into retirement phase where earnings are not taxed.
Any super fund member who starts a retirement-phase income stream on or after 1 July will have a personal TBC of $2.1 million. Those who have already started an income stream will have their unused TBC proportionally indexed in line with the new cap.
Managed investment schemes under scrutiny
Following the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds, in which investors lost millions, the government has released a consultation paper on enhancing the oversight of managed investment schemes (MISs) in an effort to improve consumer protection.
“When managed investment schemes are run without adequate governance or transparency, capital is not being channelled into real economic activity but instead becomes trapped in vehicles that deliver no productive return,” Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Daniel Mulino said.
The consultation paper includes a number of proposals, such as prohibiting responsible entities of registered MISs from conducting related-party transactions.
“This option would help ensure investment decision-making by the responsible entity is in the best interests of members by preventing related-party transactions, with limited exceptions,” the consultation paper says.
It also includes a proposal to increase ASIC’s data collection powers on the retail MIS sector, for which there is currently limited data available.
The government is expected to release further papers that will cover issues such as lead generation, which was at the heart of the Shield and First Guardian collapses.
“The government will soon consult on additional proposals to tackle inappropriate lead generation, creating a safer framework for superannuation switching and strengthening superannuation trustee governance standards,” Mullino said.
Retirees plan to stay put
The majority of Australians plan to stay where they are in retirement, according to a recent survey of members by AustralianSuper.
The survey of over 1000 members aged 50 and over found that 74% planned to stay where they are. The top three priorities when considering where to retire were proximity to health services, being close to friends and family and safety and security concerns.
“As more Australians chase a retirement that is an extension of their current lifestyle, it’s no surprise many Australians want to stay put rather than marking the end of their working life with a move,” AustralianSuper’s head of retirement Jacki Ellis said.
“Today’s retirees are already telling us the traditional cliff-edge moment of working until retirement age and then stopping altogether no longer works for them,” she said.
While more than half (55%) of those surveyed said access to healthcare was the most important factor in deciding where to retire, 50% of respondents cited proximity to friends and family as a top consideration when choosing where to live.
“With the new year underway, we encourage those approaching retirement to consider their retirement plan. The sooner you map out your goals, the easier it is to work towards living the retirement lifestyle you want, wherever that may be,” Ellis said.
HESTA CEO Debby Blakey to retire
Long-serving HESTA chief executive officer Debby Blakey has announced she will step down later this year.
Blakey has been CEO of HESTA for more than a decade, after joining the fund over 17 years ago. During her time as CEO, funds under management have grown by $70 billion to exceed $100 billion today.
“Debby has made an indelible mark on HESTA and the industry as a whole. We pride ourselves on being gutsy advocates for our members, and Debby has personified this,” HESTA chief executive officer Nicola Roxon said.
“We greatly appreciate her service and leadership, and her unwavering commitment to our members over such a long time.”
The HESTA Board expects to announce a new CEO by July.
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