Fix SCT funding now says ASFA

14 February 2017
| By Mike |
image
image
expand image

There is an immediate need to deal with the backlog of cases within the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) and to make sure its funding is adequate, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.

The ASFA has used its pre-Budget submission to renew its calls for the Budget funding of the SCT to be more clearly delineated from that of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under whose allocation it operates.

The ASFA calls directly confronts some of the preliminary findings of panel led by Professor Ian Ramsay currently reviewing financial services external dispute resolution (EDR) arrangements and the Government's apparent preference for the establishment of a one stop shop ombudsman service for the industry.

The ASFA submission described the SCT as being "a service of critical importance to APRA regulated superannuation funds and their members", adding that the time taken to resolve complaints is an issue which impacts on consumers' confidence in the superannuation system.

Referring to the Ramsay panel, the ASFA submission pointed out that the review not due to provide its final report until 31 March 2017, adding that "any reforms the government elects to make in response are likely to take some time to implement".

"As a result, there is an immediate need to deal with the current backlog of cases before the SCT," it said.

"In this context, ASFA welcomed the government's announcement on 20 April 2016 that the SCT would be provided with an ad hoc funding increase of $5.2 million to deal with legacy complaints and improve its processes and infrastructure."

However, the submission said it was ASFA's view, the one off nature of the 2016—17 funding injection did not adequately address the deficiency in funding of the SCT's ongoing needs.

"Submissions to the Ramsay Review demonstrate that consistent underfunding of the SCT has created a situation where complaints backlogs inevitably build up. In contrast, funding should be determined on the basis of consideration of complaint volumes," the submission said.

It said additional funding was also needed to automate and improve internal processes and systems which were currently inefficient and largely manual in nature.

"ASFA strongly urges Treasury and ASIC to urgently review the SCT's funding needs to ensure it is receives adequate resources on an ongoing basis to address its workload and meet its statutory objectives, without the need to rely on ad hoc funding increases," it said.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

1 year ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

1 year ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

1 year ago

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 ...

7 hours 41 minutes ago

Super funds had a “tremendous month” in November, according to new data....

4 days 6 hours ago

Australia faces a decade of deficits, with the sum of deficits over the next four years expected to overshoot forecasts by $21.8 billion....

4 days 11 hours ago