The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has conceded it has never collected specific data on the issue of how commissions impact superannuation fund balances.
Responding to a question on notice from Tasmanian Liberal Senator David Bushby, the regulator said it "does not collect data on commissions paid by superannuation funds as part of its current statistical collection".
Bushby had used a Senate Estimates Committee hearing to ask APRA officials whether they knew the degree to which commissions impacted superannuation fund balances.
"Do you have a feel for the percentage of funds that come in - particularly the retail funds - that attract commissions?" he asked.
The degree to which commissions affect superannuation fund balances represented a central element of the Industry Super Network's "compare the pair" advertising campaign, but was reliant on research from commercial ratings houses such as SuperRatings.
The winners have been announced for the 2025 Super Fund of the Year Awards, held in Melbourne on 26 November.
Australian Ethical Superannuation has seen additional licence conditions imposed on it by APRA over the fund’s expenditure management.
The fund has strengthened its leadership team with three appointments to drive its next phase of growth and innovation.
ASIC and APRA have warned many trustees have failed to meaningfully improve retirement strategies despite the retirement income covenant being in place for three years.