The Financial Services Council (FSC) has signaled it is actively considering legal action against the Fair Work Commission (FWC) over its handling of its default superannuation funds review.
The FSC chief executive, John Brogden, canvassed the possibility of the legal approach after the FWC denied an FSC request for a special hearing on the validity of the FWC's expert superannuation panel and a call for a one-week extension for MySuper submissions.
The FWC president, Justice Iain Ross, denied the FSC's claims in a statement issued today in what represented another step in a long-running argument which has already seen two members of the expert panel stood aside over perceptions of conflict of interest.
Commenting on the FWC president's latest statement, Brogden said: "It is an extraordinary circumstance where the President of the Fair Work Commission appointed himself to the Expert Panel and is now using that as a defence on why a hearing cannot occur."
"This process des nothing but continue the status quo of the union-backed industry fund's monopoly on the default superannuation market," he said.
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.
Cbus Super has unveiled Advice Essentials Plus, a new service offering affordable financial advice to both members and their partners.
The fund has launched a new tool to help deliver personalised financial education and digital personal advice to eligible members.
The QAR lead reviewer has told a Senate committee that the government’s demands of super funds conflict with their original purpose.