In a keynote speech, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission set out its 2025 supervisory and enforcement agenda for superannuation, signalling continued focus on trustee transparency, accountability and member service outcomes. ASIC said its priorities are unchanged from last year and that enforcement will continue to target member service failures and misconduct exploiting superannuation savings, noting that in 2024 it had five super trustees in court covering more than 5 million members. ASIC highlighted three areas of deeper focus. On member services, it said its sector-wide work on death benefit claims handling is reaching a conclusion and it will publish a public report in the coming months, setting out observations and areas for improvement, with follow-up later in the year to track progress, alongside new surveillance of compliance with service delivery requirements. On scams, ASIC described scams in superannuation as an emerging risk and said trustees should not outsource responsibility to administrators but maintain their own strategies to prevent, detect and respond, warning it will take action where obligations to protect customers are not met and pointing to proceedings filed against HSBC over scam protections. On private markets, ASIC noted that more than AUD 400 billion of super assets are invested privately and said it will publish a discussion paper in the first half of the year on whether current market settings remain fit for purpose, while commencing targeted surveillance of super fund financial reporting and auditing with a focus on expenses and valuations. ASIC said its multi-year work to lift trustee member services will move into a second phase in 2025, with additional monitoring and communications to trustees as the report, surveillance work and private markets discussion paper are rolled out.
Australian Securities & Investments Commission 2025-01-30
Australian Securities and Investments Commission outlines 2025 superannuation priorities including death benefit claims report scam prevention and private markets scrutiny
In a keynote speech, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) outlined its 2025 agenda for superannuation, focusing on trustee transparency, accountability, and member service outcomes. ASIC emphasized enforcement against service failures and misconduct, with five super trustees in court. Key areas include concluding work on death benefit claims, addressing superannuation scams, and assessing private market investments over AUD 400 billion. ASIC will publish a report on death benefit claims, a discussion paper on market settings, and conduct targeted surveillance on financial reporting and auditing. The initiative to enhance trustee member services will enter its second phase with increased monitoring and communication.