Today, the Government has released for consultation, draft regulations outlining proposed technical changes to the disclosure requirements for superannuation Annual Members’ Meeting (AMM) notices.
AMMs provide members with the opportunity to directly engage with and question the trustees of their superannuation fund, holding them to account for the fund’s performance and operations.
To support members in preparation for meetings, superannuation funds are required to provide certain information with the annual member notices. The current regulations do not align with the Australian Accounting Standards and impose unnecessary costs on funds and their members.
In order to improve the disclosure requirements and provide members with simple and clear information ahead of the AMM, the draft regulations will streamline disclosure, prevent the double-counting of certain types of expenditure, and align the definition of ‘related party’ with that used in the Australian Accounting Standards.
The draft regulations will also ensure that members receive annual member notices outlining key expenditure figures ahead of the AMM. There will still be a requirement to clearly disclose payments to industrial bodies, including unions and employer associations.
Providing members with simple and clear information will empower them to effectively engage with trustees during the meeting and improve member outcomes.
The Government supports policies that provide a high level of meaningful transparency and maximise members’ retirement benefits.
Consultation on the exposure draft regulations and explanatory statement is open on the Treasury website.
The Government welcomes submissions from all interested parties.