The Minister for Finance and Acting Assistant Treasurer, Senator Mathias Cormann, has reinforced the Government's commitment to altering superannuation fund governance arrangements to more closely align with those of publicly-listed companies.
The minister has used an address to a Money Management breakfast in Sydney today to declare that the Government was going to progress its policy commitment on corporate governance within superannuation funds.
"There are a range of other issues that we will continue to address - some related to corporate governance in superannuation," he said. "We are looking to progress our policy commitment to ensure we have the most efficient, most transparent arrangements with appropriate governance."
Referencing the Cooper Review's recommendations on corporate governance which had not been picked up by the former Labor Government, Cormann said he regarded the Cooper Review recommendations as both sensible and appropriate.
Directly pointing to the current employer/union representation common within industry funds, the minister said the ‘equal representation' model was no longer contemporary in 2014 and after more than 20 years of superannuation in Australia.
"Corporate Governance standards need to come into line with publicly-listed companies more broadly," he said.
The future of superannuation policy remains uncertain, with further reforms potentially on the horizon as the Albanese government seeks to curb the use of superannuation as a bequest vehicle.
Superannuation funds will have two options for charging fees for the advice provided by the new class of adviser.
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.
APRA’s latest data has revealed that superannuation funds spent $1.3 billion on advice fees, with the vast majority sent to external financial advisers.