Super Alert – 27 March 2026: New Bill to provide access to super for victims of child sex abuse, Bill passes banning advertising of superannuation products to new employees
Welcome to the weekly KHQ Super Alert. This week a new Bill was introduced to Parliament which proposes to provide access to superannuation contributions for victims of child sexual abuse. Parliament also passed a Bill from last year which (amongst other things) bans advertising of certain superannuation products to new employees as part of the employment onboarding process. Meanwhile, APRA announced that it has begun industry consultation to implement the Government’s ‘Retirement Reporting Framework’.
ASIC – Speech in relation to protecting members from harmful switching practices
On 26 March 2026, ASIC published a speech delivered by one of its Commissioners, Alan Kirkland. The focus of the speech related to recent ASIC actions seeking to combat ‘harmful’ superannuation switching practices. Mr Kirkland encouraged all trustee to review whether their members were ‘being exploited by superannuation switching business models’ and to consider whether they can demonstrate that their current systems and controls and working by showing:
- ‘what information was obtained,
- what enquiries were made,
- what risks were identified,
- what conditions or limits were imposed,
- what monitoring occurred over time, and
- why the trustee remained satisfied that the option should continue to be made available to members’.
Click here for details.
Parliament – Bill introduced proposing access to superannuation contributions for victims of child sexual abuse
On 25 March 2026, the Treasury Laws Amendment (The Survivors Law) Bill 2026 was introduced to the House of Representatives. According to the Explanatory Memorandum, the main purpose of the Bill is to create ‘a framework enabling victims and survivors of specified child abuse offences to seek visibility and release of certain amounts from a perpetrator’s superannuation to satisfy unpaid compensation orders derived from criminal or civil proceedings’.
The key amendments will be made to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) because ‘[t]o initiate the release process, victims and survivors that meet the application criteria must apply to the [ATO] to obtain the perpetrator’s superannuation information. Receipt of this information enables them to apply for a court order for the [ATO] to facilitate the release of monies from a perpetrator’s superannuation interests’.
See our Super Alert of 6 February 2026 for further background information in relation to the consultation carried out by the Government on the draft version of this Bill.
Click here and here for details.
APRA – Joint letter issued with ATO in relation to Payday Super reforms
On 25 March 2026, APRA and the ATO issued a joint letter to all RSEs in relation to the commencement of the Payday Super reforms on 1 July 2026. It is noted that while the ‘ATO is the lead regulator for implementation of Payday Super…APRA is supporting the ATO in this role’.
The regulators have reminded trustees that:
- ‘RSE licensees have a key role supporting a successful transition alongside other system participants
- significant breaches relating to Payday Super requirements commencing 1 July 2026 would necessitate a breach notification to APRA [pursuant to s 29JA of the SIS Act]; and
- APRA would expect processing of contributions to be part of an RSE licensee’s critical operations, and accordingly be subject to the requirements of Prudential Standard CPS 230 Operational Risk Management’.
Click here for details.
Legislation – Existing relief extended in relation to consents for PDS statements
On 25 March 2026, the ASIC Corporations (Consents to Statements) Instrument 2026/89 was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. It repeals the existing relief in the ASIC Corporations (Consents to Statements) Instrument 2016/72 which relates to permitting PDSs to include statements made by an official person (eg, a government official) in books, journals or comparable publications without having to obtain the consent of the person.
The relief will continue until 1 April 2031.
Click here for details.
ATO – Consultation in relation to transfer balance cap ruling changes
On 25 March 2026, the ATO released a draft consolidated version of Law Companion Ruling LCR 2016/9 Superannuation reform: transfer balance cap which proposes some changes to the original ruling. According to the ATO, the proposed amendments are intended to:
- ‘further explain proportional indexation of the transfer balance cap and superannuation income streams subject to a commutation authority’; and
- ‘clarify how the general principles in this draft Consolidation apply in the context of successor fund transfers’.
The draft ruling is now open for public comment. The consultation period closes on 8 May 2026.
Click here for details.
Legislation – Existing relief extended in relation to rounding in financial statements and IDPS operators holding interests in securities
On 24 March 2026, the following instruments were registered on the Federal Register of Legislation:
- ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2026/183 which remakes ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 2016/191 and extends the existing relief until 1 April 2031; and
- ASIC Corporations (IDPS—Relevant Interests) Instrument 2026/100 which remakes ASIC Corporations (IDPS—Relevant Interests) Instrument 2015/1067 and extends the existing relief until 1 April 2031.
The Explanatory Statements for both new instruments explain that ASIC consulted with industry last year about remaking these instruments, but did not receive any submissions.
Click here and here for details.
Parliament – Bill proposing greater flexibility to request employee information from the ATO and restrict onboarding advertising passed
On 23 March 2026, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Bill 2025 (Cth) passed both Houses of Parliament. As referred to in our Super Alert of 28 November 2025, the Bill makes the following changes which will impact the superannuation industry:
- ‘provide greater flexibility for when an employer, or their agent, may request details of an employee’s stapled superannuation fund from the [ATO], so the employer, or their agent, can provide those details to the employee during onboarding to inform the employee’s choice of fund’; and
- bans ‘advertising of certain superannuation products to new employees as part of the onboarding process. The ban will reduce the risk that employees are induced or influenced to choose a superannuation product that is not appropriate to their needs or results in opening of unnecessary multiple superannuation accounts during the onboarding process.
Click here for details.
APRA – Consultation open for Government’s Retirement Reporting Framework
On 23 March 2026, APRA announced that it has begun industry consultation in relation to ‘the implementation of the Retirement Reporting Framework’. As referred to in our Super Alert of 27 February 2026, Treasury released a fact sheet earlier this year in relation to the creation of various indicators for trustees to report against in relation to their retirement products, services and offerings.
According to the consultation paper, it is proposed that:
- ‘[d]ata is expected to be collected by APRA on an annual basis from 2027 to enable publication from 2028, to provide insights on fund offerings and member outcomes, and help track progress with retirement phase uplift’;
- ‘APRA will publish data annually commencing in 2028’;
- ‘APRA and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will jointly use the data as part of tracking progress by RSE licensees against retirement income strategies required by the Retirement Income Covenant’; and
- ‘APRA will share the data with ASIC, Treasury and other relevant government agencies’.
The consultation period closes on 3 June 2026.
Click here for details.
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