A parliamentary committee has been given some insight into the variability of how both the Australian Taxation Office and superannuation funds are handling the Government’s hardship early release superannuation scheme.
Answering questions from the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, major industry fund LUCRF has pointed out that, on occasion, the ATO has been responsible for reversing early release arrangements.
The fund pointed to the fact that there were at least nine occasions on which the ATO had approved early release applications only to later revoke them.
Pointing out that LUCRF was not involved in the process of approving early release application requests, the fund said that as at 28 April 2020, LUCRF had been advised by the ATO that it had revoked nine applications that they had previously approved.
LUCRF pointed out that, as well, 44 applications were unable to be processed by the ATO due to the member either closing their account prior to receipt of the ATO request or the member requesting the cancellation of the ATO application.
The Assistant Treasurer has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening retirement outcomes, consumer protections and cyber resilience in superannuation.
The industry super fund has advanced reconciliation efforts with a new initiative focused on improving outcomes for First Nations members.
The regulator has announced fresh legal actions in relation to the Shield and First Guardian fund failures.
The Gateway Network Governance Body has unveiled a detailed roadmap to guide the superannuation industry through the upcoming Payday Super reforms.