Super Alert – 10 October 2025: Payday Super reforms, ASIC annual report, APRA, ASIC and Treasury statements to Senate Economics Legislation Committee

Welcome to the weekly KHQ Super Alert. The main piece of news is that the Payday Super reforms have made their way into proposed legislation and are now being considered by Parliament. ASIC also released its annual report for the 2024/25 financial year and APRA called for stronger action to be taken by platform trustees after it published the findings of its thematic review into platforms. APRA, ASIC and Treasury wrapped up the news week by publishing various opening statements to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee.

APRA – Senate Economics Legislation Committee opening statement published

On 9 October 2025, APRA published the opening statement delivered by John Lonsdale, APRA Chair, to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee (hearing the Supplementary Budget Estimates). Mr Lonsdale described Australia’s financial system as ‘stable and safe…benefiting from prudential regulation and policy settings reviewed and enhanced over many years’.

Mr Lonsdale described APRA’s recent work, and noted the following priorities for the months ahead:

• Governance: A ‘top priority…is finalising reforms to our cross-industry framework for governance. This is a significant piece of work; well-governed institutions are likely to be more resilient in times of stress, while poor governance can create weakness that leads to misconduct, losses and failures. We have had more submissions to this consultation than any other in recent memory. We will provide an interim update on the consultation shortly.’
• Cyber resilience: ‘We also intend to further strengthen cyber resilience across all APRA’s regulated industries given the recent escalation of attacks. We were reminded of this threat earlier this year when several major superannuation funds were the target of credential stuffing attacks.’
• System Stress Test: ‘Another key initiative will be the publication in coming months of the results of our inaugural System Stress Test, designed to evaluate interconnectedness between the banking and superannuation sectors.’

Click here for details.

ASIC – Senate Economics Legislation Committee opening statement published

On 9 October 2025, ASIC published the opening statement delivered by Joe Longo, ASIC Chair, to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee (hearing the Supplementary Budget Estimates).

Mr Longo highlighted that ‘[h]igh risk super switching is a great concern to ASIC and this is a key area of focus’. He explained that there are currently ’24 ongoing investigations’ in relation to the First Guardian and Sheild Master Fund matters. ASIC’s priority is ‘to preserve any remaining assets of the schemes to the extent they are available, so they can be recovered for investors or to recover funds for investors through other possible means’.

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Treasury – Senate Economics Legislation Committee opening statement published

On 9 October 2025, Treasury published the opening statement delivered by Jenny Wilkinsom PSM, Secretary to the Treasury, to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee (hearing the Supplementary Budget Estimates).

Some items of note include the following:

• ‘The financial regulators have committed to working together to reduce red tape and the compliance burden on the financial sector’.
• Tax receipts were higher than expected in the recent financial year, ‘mostly due to higher-than-expected receipts from company tax…personal income tax…and superannuation fund tax’.
• ‘Treasury released modelling in September that informed the government’s Net Zero Plan…[t]he modelling illustrates that Australia’s net-zero transition is a significant transition for the economy that involves a range of structural changes and investments in Iong-lived assets’.

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Parliament – Payday Super reforms introduced to House of Representatives

On 8 October 2025, the following Bills were introduced to the House of Representatives:

• Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025; and
• Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025.

According to the joint Explanatory Memorandum, the Bills work together to ‘create a strong incentive for employers to make superannuation contributions for their employees at the same time as they pay the employee’s qualifying earnings’ (as otherwise the SG charge will be imposed). These reforms are proposed to commence on 1 July 2026.

In an associated media release, the Treasurer, the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP, explained that the Bill will help the ATO ‘more quickly identify employers not making contributions’. The ATO ‘intends to consult on its approach to compliance for the 12 months after the change starts’.

Click here, here and here for details.

ASIC – Annual report for 2024/25 released

On 8 October 2025, ASIC released its annual report for the 2024/25 financial year. The report details the increase in enforcement action and investigations over the last financial year.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo noted that ‘ongoing operational uplift at ASIC has helped to deliver a 50% increase in investigations, an almost 20% increase in new civil enforcement proceedings and the completion of 829 targeted surveillances’.

The report details several significant outcomes for the 2024/25 financial year which included:

• ‘publishing ASIC’s first discussion paper into the dynamics of Australia’s public and private markets;
• launching the Regulatory Simplification Consultative Group;
• …reviewing the use of AI by financial services and credit licensees;
• taking down over 6,900 investment scam and phishing websites; and
• securing $104.1 million in court-ordered civil penalties and $16.8 million in court-imposed criminal fines’.

Click here for details.

APRA – Results of the thematic review of platforms

On 7 October 2025, APRA published a letter to platform trustees, setting out APRA’s key findings and required actions following its thematic review of platforms. The APRA letter:

• ‘calls on platform trustees to lift standards relating to onboarding, ongoing monitoring and promoting member outcomes;
• outlines APRA’s observations on weaker and current better industry practices; and
• requires platform trustees to confirm Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) accountabilities; consider whether they have breached the prudential standards and obligations; and determine a time-bound action plan to lift standards’.

APRA ‘called on superannuation trustees to accelerate and escalate efforts to safeguard members’ investments held in platform products’.

Click here for details.

This alert was written by Callum Hurley (Lawyer), Sanela Diamantopoulos (Senior Associate) and Natalie Cambrell (Director).

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