The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has published Report 833 warning platform superannuation trustees to fix persistent weaknesses in how they protect members’ retirement savings. Based on a review of six platform trustees covering AUD 305 billion in member benefits and 977,000 accounts, ASIC found gaps in monitoring harmful advice fee deductions, unusual fee and investment activity, and high-risk superannuation switching. The review found persistent shortcomings in advice fee controls, with some practices worsening over the past two years, limited checking of advice documents, weak scrutiny of advice licensees’ business models, and inadequate monitoring of indicators such as member churn, fee patterns, holding limits and unusual fund flows. Half of the trustees reported conducting no advice document checks in at least one month during the review period, and one trustee proposed an advice fee cap of AUD 30,000, which ASIC linked to concerns previously raised in Report 781. ASIC also highlighted a case in which a trustee took no further action for 13 months after identifying suspicious activity, during which another representative from the same advice licensee submitted rollover applications using falsified signatures of a deceased adviser. Report 833 sets out calls to action for trustees to review their controls immediately, including closer scrutiny of fee structures and activity linked to lead generators and other high-risk switching practices. ASIC said suspected misconduct should be reported without delay and that significant non-compliance could lead to regulatory action, pointing to its existing matters involving Equity Trustees Superannuation Limited, Diversa Trustees Limited, Macquarie Investment Management Limited and Netwealth.
Australian Securities & Investments Commission2026-06-29
Australian Securities and Investments Commission warns platform superannuation trustees over persistent oversight failures across AUD 305 billion in retirement savings
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s Report 833 says platform superannuation trustees are not doing enough to protect retirement savings, following a review of six trustees overseeing AUD 305 billion. ASIC found weak controls over advice fees, limited checking of advice documents, poor monitoring of unusual fund activity and insufficient scrutiny of advice licensees, including lead generation risks. It called for immediate remediation and said serious non-compliance could trigger enforcement action.