In this guide
- Super performance test to cover retirement products and platforms
- ASIC expands its free retirement planning tools
- UniSuper slashes pension account fees
- Super members alerted to dodgy dental practices
- Fears new laws could make greenwashing harder to detect
- Telstra Super fails to resolve member complaints on time
- Get more guides like this with a free account
Super performance test to cover retirement products and platforms
Government proposals to extend and strengthen the annual superannuation performance test have been welcomed by industry and consumer groups.
Crucially, a Treasury options paper proposes extending the test to retirement products and platforms and adjusting the way it treats emerging and alternative assets.
“Five years after it was brought in, the performance test has done a great job. It’s now time to modernise it, to deal with some unintended consequences and make it stronger,” said Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) chief executive Mary Delahunty.
The current test measures super fund performance against a fixed set of benchmarks and has successfully removed underperforming funds from the market. However, ASFA argues it has made some investments look artificially less attractive than they really are in a long-term context, like super.
“Modernising and strengthening the test could allow for greater investment in emerging assets. Assets that are not well covered by current benchmarks that drive strong long-term returns and can also align with national resilience efforts include energy, defence, agriculture and early-stage Australian venture capital,” Delahunty said.
Super Consumers Australia (SCA) welcomed the proposed extension of the test to retirement products and platform investments, saying it would close gaps in consumer protection across the super system.
“Right now, a member can move from an accumulation product into an almost identical retirement product and lose the protection of the performance test,” said SCA chief executive Xavier O’Halloran.
Research by SCA found that only 4.6% ($19.9 billion of $433.3 billion) of platform investments were covered by the performance test in 2025 and 11 platform funds had no products assessed under the test, including Hub24 and Netwealth.
ASIC expands its free retirement planning tools
In response to research showing that around half (48%) of Australians approaching retirement worry about running out of money, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has launched a range of free retirement planning tools and resources on its Moneysmart website.
The national research also found nearly a third (32%) feel they are already behind in preparing for retirement and only 18% have a clear retirement plan in place.
Yet a majority say they want to learn more about super and retirement.
With around 2.5 million Australians expected to retire over the next decade, ASIC’s new Moneysmart Retirement Hub brings together practical tools, calculators and guidance, including its existing Retirement Planner tool, which allows people to see how much retirement income they could have from super, the Age Pension and other sources, and to explore ways to improve their retirement outcome.
ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said the new resources on Moneysmart can help people understand how they are tracking and plan for their future with greater confidence.
UniSuper slashes pension account fees
UniSuper has thrown down the gauntlet to other public offer super funds by halving the asset-based administration fee in its flagship pension product.
From 1 July 2026, more than 42,000 UniSuper members in its Flexi Pension retirement product will see their asset-based administration fee halve from 0.16% to 0.08%. This will apply to Flexi Pension retirement phase and beneficiary income streams, but not its transition to retirement product.
UniSuper estimates the change will save the average Flexi Pension member around $495 per year, and as much as $625 in some cases.
UniSuper chief executive officer Peter Chun said: “Based on our modelling, it means that (members) could have more than $5,000 extra in their accounts through their retirement thanks to this change.”
Super members alerted to dodgy dental practices
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) are warning Australians to be wary about applying for compassionate release of super to pay for dental treatment.
ATO deputy commissioner Ben Kelly said the ATO and Ahpra are concerned that some health practitioners and third parties are using predatory practices to get individuals to inappropriately access their super early to pay for overpriced or unnecessary treatments.
“A red flag to look out for is health practitioners or third parties who use social media to advertise early access to super for cosmetic or dental procedures. This type of promotion is a clear warning sign that practitioners or third parties might be willing to exploit an individual’s circumstances and encourage them to take risks with their super.”
“You should be extremely wary of any facilitator or practitioner who asks for your myGov sign-in so they can ‘apply for you’. You should never share your myGov details with anyone. Sharing your myGov details puts your identity security at significant risk.”
Between 2019 and 2025, Ahpra received 95 complaints about medical and dental practitioners involved in the compassionate release of superannuation. Most complaints related to treatment outcomes or payment disputes.
The ATO encourages anyone who is aware of inappropriate practices to make a tip off to the ATO.
Fears new laws could make greenwashing harder to detect
Super Consumers Australia (SCA) has warned that proposed new labelling rules for sustainable financial products could make it harder for Australians to know where their retirement savings are invested.
The government is considering new laws that would provide consistent labels and disclosure requirements for investment products (including super) marketed as ‘sustainable’ or similar. It published a consultation paper in February and aims to start the new regime in 2027, subject to “final policy decisions that would define what terms like ‘sustainable’ mean and set minimum investment thresholds”.
SCA argues the proposals could allow 30% of investment assets to not align with the sustainability goal.
“People should be able to trust that ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ super products actually match their values, but too often they don’t,” said SCA chief executive Xavier O’Halloran.
“We’re concerned these proposals could undermine the effectiveness of existing anti-greenwashing laws. ASIC has shown it can take action and now is not the time to weaken the rules.”
Telstra Super fails to resolve member complaints on time
The Federal Court has found Telstra Super failed to comply with its internal dispute resolution procedures within the mandatory 45-day timeline in about one-third of relevant complaints made between October 2021 and January 2023. And in about 30% of those cases, Telstra Super’s response was more than 100 days after it received the complaint.
This is the first case that ASIC has brought under the internal dispute resolution requirements, which came into effect in October 2021.
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said: “This outcome sends a clear message that compliance with mandatory internal dispute resolution standards is not optional, but a legal obligation. Financial service providers must … devote adequate resources to ensure complaints are managed promptly and fairly.”
The Court found Telstra Super not only failed to explain the delays in some cases, but it also failed to inform some complainants about their right to take their complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
The case is the latest in a growing list of failures across the super sector involving complaints handling, death benefits, insurance claims and customer service delays.
“ASIC taking enforcement action under the existing rules is welcome, but Australians deserve a system that prevents these failures from happening in the first place. Mandatory customer service standards would create clear expectations, transparency and accountability across the industry – and help restore trust in the super system,” said SCA chief executive Xavier O’Halloran.
(Telstra Super merged with Aware Super in April 2026 and its members are now members of Aware Super.)
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