Super Alert – 4 April 2025: ASIC report on death benefit claims, financial services-related bills lapse, regulatory guide for sustainability reporting

Welcome to the weekly KHQ Super Alert. This week ASIC released guidance to assist entities to prepare sustainability reports once the new laws come into effect. It also released a critical report relating to death benefit claims handling in the superannuation industry. A number of financial services-related Bills before Parliament also lapsed with the calling of the Federal election.

ASIC – Regulatory guide for sustainability reporting released

On 31 March 2025, ASIC released Regulatory Guide 280 Sustainability reporting which aims to provide ‘guidance for entities that are required to prepare a sustainability report containing climate-related financial information under Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act 2001’ (which includes superannuation trustees). As referred to in our Super Alert of 8 November 2024, ASIC consulted with industry late last year in relation to the contents of this guidance. ASIC has made a handful of changes to the final version as a result of that consultation.

ASIC has confirmed that it will take a ‘pragmatic and proportionate approach to supervision and enforcement of the sustainability reporting requirements as they are being phased in’.

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ASIC – Report on death benefit claims handling released

On 31 March 2025, ASIC published ‘Report 806 Taking ownership of death benefits: How trustees can deliver outcomes Australians deserve’. According to ASIC, it analysed the way 10 trustees handled death benefit claims over a two-year period and as a result has put together 34 recommendations for all superannuation trustees to consider.

The recommendations cover a variety of topics such as:

• ‘better customer service and faster response times’;
• ‘improved monitoring and reporting on claims handling timeframes’;
• ‘streamlined processes and procedures’;
• ‘better guidance and training for staff’;
• ‘removing barriers for First Nations members and claimants’; and
• ‘clearer communications and more support for members’.

As explained by ASIC’s Chair, Joe Longo, the issues identified by the report include ‘excessive delays, poor customer service, and ineffective claims handling procedures’. ASIC Commissioner, Simone Constant, described many of the complaints as ‘distressing’ and urged superannuation trustees to ‘immediately review and address death benefit claims handling deficiencies by adopting the list of recommendations outlined in Report 806’.

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Legislation – Social security consequences for exiting legacy products waived

On 28 March 2025, the Social Security (Waiver of Debts – Legacy Product Conversions) Specification 2025 (Cth) was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. This instrument is connected to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Legacy Retirement Product Commutations and Reserves) Regulations 2024 (Cth). As referred to in our Super Alert of 13 December 2024, those regulations ‘allow individuals to exit [certain legacy retirement] products’ such as ‘legacy lifetime, life expectancy and market-linked superannuation income stream products’ that ‘commenced prior to 20 September 2007’.

The effect of the latest instrument is to prescribe ‘two classes of social security debts that may be waived by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services’. The reason for this is so that people are not disadvantaged if they take advantage of the commutation measure introduced last year. The Department of Social Services does not intend to ‘undermine the policy intention behind the measure, which is to support retirees by allowing them to exit products that no longer suit their needs. As such, ensuring these debts are able to be waived is critical to the success of the [initial regulations]’.

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Parliament – Unpassed legislation lapses with calling of Federal election

On 28 March 2025, Parliament was dissolved as a result of the calling of the Federal election. The following pieces of legislation had not passed Parliament at the time it was prorogued, and accordingly they have now lapsed:

• Corporations Amendment (Streamlining Advice Process) Bill 2024 (Cth) which proposed to ‘introduce additional requirements in relation to the provision of personal advice to a retail client by a financial advisor…and make consequential amendments’ to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);
• Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures) Bill 2023 (Cth) and the Superannuation (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions) Imposition Bill 2023 (Cth) — these Bills contained ‘measures to reduce the tax concessions available to individuals with total superannuation balances exceeding $3 million’;
• Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Frontline Emergency Service Workers) Bill 2025 (Cth) – this sought to increase the SG contribution rate for firefighters and paramedics; and
• Treasury Laws Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2024 — which contained various amendments to Treasury laws such as reducing ‘the frequency of [the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority’s] reviews of ASIC and APRA to every five years’.

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