Australian Prudential Regulation Authority imposed additional licence conditions on BUSSQ as trustee challenges Federal Court ruling on review process

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) imposed additional licence conditions on BUSS (Queensland) Pty Ltd, as trustee for The Building Unions Superannuation Scheme (Queensland) (BUSSQ), and has outlined the ongoing legal challenge to that decision. BUSSQ’s board sought judicial review despite being on notice that an internal review avenue was available, and the Federal Court (Justice Derrington) found on 31 January 2025 that BUSSQ should have used the internal review process rather than applying to the Court for relief; BUSSQ has since challenged that judgment and APRA is considering the notice of appeal. The licence conditions were imposed to safeguard members’ interests, enable prudential concerns to be addressed effectively and expeditiously, and ensure transparency in BUSSQ’s response to those concerns. APRA linked the action to identified prudential concerns about BUSSQ’s compliance with trustees’ obligations to act in members’ best financial interests and to maintain appropriate processes to assess the fitness and propriety of directors.