POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Federal Court dismisses misconduct allegations against Rest Super
A court has thrown out ASIC’s allegation that superannuation trustee Rest made false or misleading statements about the ability of its members to roll over funds to another superannuation fund.
Justice Jonathan Beach of the Federal Court of Australia found Rest did not make false or misleading statements between March 2015 and May 2018 about a member’s ability to transfer, or “rollover”, between superannuation funds.
“Rest accurately conveyed to members what its rules and practices were. Its factual statements about that to members were accurate. Moreover, any opinions expressed as to the law were based on reasonable grounds,” Justice Beach said in his written reasons.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleged Rest discouraged, delayed or prevented its members from transferring some or all of their funds to another superannuation trustee and denied them their lawful rights to portability and choice.
Specifically, ASIC accused Rest of informing members they needed a minimum of $5,000 in their accounts if they remained employed by the same company who had been making the Rest contributions.
If the employer was willing to contribute to another fund, Rest allegedly told members they needed an employer declaration.
On the other hand, if the employee was no longer employed by that same company, Rest allegedly told its members to obtain a separation certificate or confirmation of their termination date and provide this to Rest before the balance could be transferred.
Rest told the court it was entitled to request information, like a member’s employment or termination date, to establish whether the member requesting the rollover request was a determination member or whether further contributions would be received.
Justice Beach said even if ASIC’s allegations were true and those statements did convey inappropriate representations, Rest could not be found to have made false or misleading or deceptive statements because “they correctly reflected the legal position”.
“In summary, even if ASIC had been correct on the construction question concerning ‘member’s interest in the fund’, it still has not made out its case as to the falsity of the statements made or that they were misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive,” Justice Beach determined.
The proceedings were dismissed and ASIC was ordered to pay 80 per cent of Rest’s costs.
AUTHOR
Naomi Neilson
Recommended for you
Superannuation funds are stepping up their cyber security efforts as reliance on digital infrastructure exposes them to growing risks of cyber attacks, according to new research from JP Morgan.
It seems the government is still determined to push through its controversial super tax legislation, according to its Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement released today.
Bitcoin’s recent surge above US$105,000 has fuelled predictions of a continued monumental rise, yet many Australian super funds remain hesitant to dive into the world of digital assets, with one fund admitting it is keeping an eye on the space.
Large super funds are at the forefront of setting standards for the governance of unlisted asset valuations, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI Second Close
61.07 3 y p.a(%)
2
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI First Close USD
59.21 3 y p.a(%)
3
DomaCom Lot 21 Chellaston Road Munno Para West SA 5115 Australia
31.73 3 y p.a(%)
4
Fidante Credit Suisse Global Private Equity
30.15 3 y p.a(%)
5
DomaCom 4/27 Crombie Avenue Bundall QLD 4217 Australia
26.71 3 y p.a(%)
