Super’s objective just a step away from becoming law

The Super Members Council congratulates the House of Representatives for swiftly passing the Objective of Super Bill yesterday.

This landmark legislation will be “a guiding light for policy development in superannuation” and deliver certainty and predictability for all Australians who rely on super for a better quality of life in retirement.

Super has delivered transformative benefits for millions of Australians. While the Australian public know super’s job is to provide income for their retirement, its purpose has never been legislated.

The Super Members Council (SMC) Chief Executive Misha Schubert said the objective wording reflects the views of everyday Australians – and urged the Senate to pass the Bill swiftly into law.

“Ask Australians what super is for, and they’ll tell you it’s their money for retirement. The ‘Objective of Super’ legislation reflects that clear and compelling purpose in ironclad law. It will be a guiding light for all future super policy development.”

“We strongly support the legislation. It will ensure super stays strong and secure – and continues to deliver a financially secure retirement for millions of everyday Australians.”

“An agreed objective of super supports more stable, effective and equitable policy settings and reinforces the strong system fundamentals needed to successfully evolve the system – especially as 2.5 million Australians prepare for retirement in the decade ahead.’’

The legislation says super’s role is to preserve savings to provide income in retirement in an equitable and sustainable way.

Importantly, the Bill safeguard’s super’s preservation policy – the principle that the clear purpose of super is to deliver retirement income – in legislation.

“The goal of legislating an Objective of Super has long held bipartisan and cross-party support – and we urge the Senate to pass this important piece of legislation swiftly,” Ms Schubert added. 

The Objective of Super has long-held bipartisan and cross-party support – with both major parties committing to legislating an Objective of Super.

The Financial Systems Inquiry in 2014 and the Retirement Income Review in 2020 both identified the pressing need for a clear objective in legislation. 

The Super Members Council supports the passage of the legislation – and proposes three practical amendments the Senate could add to further strengthen the Bill:

• First, include robust modelling and data analysis in the statement of compatibility;
• Second, the statement of compatibility must be subject to public consultation; and
• Finally, add a review every five years to make sure the objective is working as intended.

_{The opinions above are those of the author in their capacity as spokesperson for Super Members Council of Australia (SMC). SMC, the authors and all other persons involved in the preparation of this information are thereby not giving legal, financial or professional advice for individual persons or organisations.}