The Australian Securities & Investments Commission announced that the Federal Court found Telstra Super, now Tetra Servicing Pty Ltd, failed to comply with mandatory internal dispute resolution procedures by not responding to about one third of relevant complaints within the 45 day deadline between 22 October 2021 and 13 January 2023. In about 30% of those cases, the response was provided more than 100 days after the complaint was received. The Court also found that, for some complaints, Telstra Super did not adequately explain the reason for the delay and did not inform some complainants of their right to take the matter to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. The Court did not find that Telstra Super failed to do all things necessary to provide financial services efficiently, honestly and fairly, and it did not find that the firm had inadequately resourced its internal dispute resolution process. ASIC said the proceedings are the first it has brought under the internal dispute resolution requirements that took effect in October 2021 and require superannuation trustees to respond to most complaints within 45 days. In the judgment, Justice Neskovcin said timeliness is central to effective complaint management and held that statements indicating an investigation was ongoing were not sufficient reasons for delay notifications.

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