Super execs hit road to improve Indigenous super access

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and executives from the superannuation industry and Federal Government have hit the road to visit South Australia’s remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands to both learn from and help local Indigenous people with their super.

The trip, an initiative of ASIC’s Indigenous Outreach Program (IOP), aimed to highlight the challenges faced by Indigenous consumers in accessing heir superannuation entitlements.

These included difficulties stemming from language, limited phone coverage, irregular identification documents and low levels of financial literacy.

It would see representatives from Australian Super, HESTA, Super SA, QSuper and Prime Super work directly with community members and interpreters to connect Anangu – the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara-speaking people - with their superannuation.

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English was not the primary language spoken in the APY Lands and interpreters could take up to two weeks to book, and even then the interpreters often also had low levels of financial literacy and thus limited understanding about super.

A large number of Anangu also did not have standard identification documents. Many older members of the communities did not know their date of birth nor what date could have been used to set up their fund.

While super funds must meet compliance regulations for identification standards, especially those imposed by the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, ASIC believed that there was still “ample room” to improve access while still meeting these requirements.

“ASIC's work on breaking down these barriers is fundamentally premised on the notion that any funds in superannuation accounts belong to its members, and any unreasonable barriers that prevent members accessing their funds undermine that ownership,” the regulator said.

ASIC Indigenous Outreach officer, Nathan Boyle, said that the superannuation industry had already made progress to increase accessibility for its indigenous members, but that there was scope for more solutions.

“We look forward to participants using the experience to create innovative solutions to ensure that all Indigenous Australians are able to access and manage their superannuation entitlements,” he said.

The trip was running from 28 May – 2 June and was organised in partnership with MoneyMob Talkabout, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the financial literacy of Indigenous Australians living in remote communities, and First Nations Foundation, an Indigenous financial literacy charity.