Restoring stability and certainty to our superannuation system is a key aspect of the Government's agenda to build a strong and prosperous economy.
Today the Assistant Treasurer, Senator the Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO, released a discussion paper entitled 'Better regulation and governance, enhanced transparency and improved competition in superannuation' for public consultation to meet the Government's election commitments to improve governance, increase transparency of information provided by super funds and boost competition and transparency in the selection process of default super funds in modern awards.
"Good governance in superannuation is critical to securing trust and integrity. This Government is committed to improving superannuation governance which may be aligned with the corporate governance principles applicable to, for example, ASX-listed companies or APRA-regulated entities, such as in the banking and finance industry," said Senator Sinodinos.
Addressing outstanding aspects of the MySuper reforms, including improving the quality of information available to super fund members, is also key to ensuring both members and employers can make informed decisions about the relative performance of funds. This is why the issue of transparency will be examined in this paper.
The discussion paper also examines the issue of competition in default super funds in modern awards.
Australians in default superannuation funds should benefit from genuine choice and competition through ensuring any MySuper product can compete freely in the default superannuation market.
The paper also seeks views on a possible deferral of the commencement date of the MySuper transparency measures beyond 1 July 2014.
"We are committed to a detailed consultation process to ensure the interests of consumers are protected, regulatory burden is minimised and confidence is increased in the system," said Senator Sinodinos.
Consultation for this paper will be open from today until 12 February 2014. The discussion paper can be viewed Treasury website.