The Assistant Treasurer, Senator Rod Kemp, announced today that the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) would be provided with powers of arbitration to help address difficulties created by a Full Federal Court decision that the existing review powers of the Tribunal are unconstitutional.
The Tribunals proposed voluntary arbitration function would cover the legal rights of the parties and, wherever possible, considerations of general justice and fairness. Parties to arbitration would be able to enforce the Tribunals arbitral awards.
Senator Kemp said that voluntary arbitration by the Tribunal, as an interim strategy, will greatly assist in addressing the backlog of complaints that have built up since the full Federal Court decision, and in enabling the Tribunal to deal with complaints which arise in the meantime.
Senator Kemp urged superannuation funds, insurers and their respective industry associations to co-operate with the Tribunal in its arbitration role. It is in the interests of fund trustees and insurers, in terms of promoting public confidence in the superannuation system, that they take a co-operative and constructive attitude to ensuring that fund members can have their complaints arbitrated, where necessary, by the SCT under its new powers.
Senator Kemp said the Government was pleased that the High Court had granted special leave for the appeal of the Full Federal Court decision that the review powers of the SCT were unconstitutional. The appeal is expected to be heard later this year.
Pending the High Court appeal, the Government will continue to develop, in consultation with industry and consumer groups, possible options for achieving a permanent solution to the current impasse, including the possibility of utilising industry-based alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Senator Kemp noted that any permanent solution needed to have the confidence of consumers and the support of the superannuation industry.
The Government would seek to have the necessary legislation to provide the Tribunal with arbitral powers passed by the Parliament in the 1998 Spring Sittings.
16 July 1998
Contact:
Penny Farnsworth:
02 6277 7360
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Michael Willcock,
Treasury
02 6263 3974