MySuper Governance Reform Acts Pass Parliament and Become Law

The final tranche of the MySuper governance reforms passed Federal Parliament on 3 December 2012 in the form of the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Further Mysuper and Transparency Measures) Act 2012 (171 of 2012).

The Act makes amendments relating to:

• The use of specific service providers;

• Infringement notices;

• Trustees providing reasons for their decisions;

• An increase in the time limit for members to lodge complaints with the Superanuation Complaints Tribunal;

• Restricting voting prohibitions;

• Resource and risk requirements for dual regulated entities;

• Seeking leave from the Court before bringing action against an individual director for a breach of their duties;

• Extending the defence of having acted with reasonable precaution to cover breaches of MySuper obligations;

And joins the following Acts in implementing the government's Stronger Super reform regime:

• Tranche 1: Superannuation Legislation Amendment (MySuper Core Provisions) Act 2012 (162 of 2012)

• Tranche 2: Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Trustee Obligations and Prudential Standards) Act 2012 (117 of 2012)

• Tranche 3: Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Further Mysuper and Transparency Measures) Act 2012 (171 of 2012)

As stated by the Industry Super network, "the industry has been able to negotiate an outcome which strikes a reasonable balance between the interests of members who have made discrete investment choices and members who have not, or who have chosen for trustees to make those decisions for them".

Time will tell if the new superannuation reforms will offer the requisite superannuation guarantee and still maintain the rights of members.

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