Super Alert – 6 March 2026: OAIC privacy guidance under AML/CTF reforms, superannuation death benefits, insurer genetic testing ban

Welcome to the weekly KHQ Super Alert. This week the OAIC updated its privacy guidance for reporting entities under the AML/CTF reforms. Treasury released a consultation proposing the prevention of access to victims’ superannuation death benefits. The Federal Court rejected an appeal to overturn an AFCA determination relating to a death benefit distribution decision. Meanwhile, the Senate Economics Legislation Committee recommended the passing of two Bills one of which would, among other things, ban genetic testing by life insurers and the other proposing changes to information request processes and the advertising of superannuation products.

Parliament – Bill proposing greater flexibility to request information and restricting onboarding advertising recommended 

On 4 March 2026, the Senate Economics Legislation Committee tabled a report recommending that the Senate pass the Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Bill 2025. As referred to in our Super Alert of 28 November 2025, the Bill proposes to make 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.’

The Committee noted that feedback received was generally in support of the superannuation specific changes that would be introduced by the Bill.

Click here for details.

Treasury – consultation to prevent perpetrators accessing victims’ superannuation death benefits opened

On 5 March 2026, Treasury published a consultation paper titled Preventing perpetrators from accessing victims’ super death benefits seeking feedback on ‘ways to prevent perpetrators of family and domestic violence from receiving the superannuation death benefits of their victim-survivors after the victim-survivor has passed away’.

Specifically, the consultation paper seeks feedback on ‘whether the common law principle known as the ‘forfeiture rule’ could be reflected in rules in relation to superannuation death benefits… [to] assist trustees in expeditiously setting aside a beneficiary who has unlawfully killed the deceased member, including in cases linked to family and domestic violence’.

The consultation paper also poses three potential options for reform:

• option 1 – providing broad discretion for trustees to set aside a person as an eligible beneficiary, a binding death nomination or an allocation otherwise required under the governing rules ‘if it believes on a fair and reasonable basis that the beneficiary has been a perpetrator of family and domestic violence against the deceased member’;
• option 2 – providing those same powers to trustees ‘but only in instances where a court has made a finding that family and domestic violence conduct was carried out by that beneficiary towards the deceased member’; or
• option 3 – providing ‘trustees with the power to pay a death benefit that would otherwise have been paid to a beneficiary under a binding nomination or as required under the fund’s governing rules to the estate or into a court where they reasonably suspect family or domestic violence was perpetrated by a beneficiary towards the deceased member.’

The consultation period closes on 15 April 2026.

Click here for details.

OAIC – Privacy guidance for AML/CTF reporting entities updated

On 27 February 2026, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) released an updated version of its Privacy guidance for reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). The guidance sets out what personal information may be collected by reporting entities and how that information must be dealt with under the AML/CTF and privacy regimes. It has been updated to reflect changes to the law which will come into effect for existing reporting entities on 31 March 2026.

The OAIC has explained that the ‘guidance clarifies that reporting entities must only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to comply with AML/CTF obligations and perform their broader organisational functions…businesses should not retain copies of full ID documents for AML/CTF record-keeping purposes. The AML/CTF regime does not require copies [of] full ID documents to be kept, and entities obligations under the Privacy Act require them to minimise the data they’re retaining’.

Click here and here for details.

Federal Court – Appeal against AFCA determination dismissed

On 26 February 2026, the Federal Court issued its judgment in the matter of Steele v Australian Financial Complaints Authority [2026] FCA 170. The appeal was brought by the son of a deceased superannuation member against an earlier decision of the Federal Court, which found that an AFCA determination confirming a trustee’s death benefit distribution decision was valid.

The appeal was dismissed for the following reasons:

• the appeal grounds did ‘not attempt to identify any alleged error in the decision or reasoning of the primary judge’;
• ‘[t]he decision of the primary judge was in substance a decision to summarily dismiss Mr Steele’s appeal against the decision of AFCA…[and] in these circumstances, an appeal would only lie against the primary judge’s decision with leave’ and no leave to appeal had been sought (the appeal was heard by a single judge of the Federal Court because it seems the applicant commenced a new proceeding against AFCA);
• certain grounds of the appeal appeared to be ‘directed to the merits of the decision made by AFCA’ rather than any question of law; and
• ‘[t]he orders sought in the notice of appeal are not orders of a kind that the Court could make on the appeal’.

Click here for details.

Parliament – Insurer genetic testing ban and other changes to financial framework regulation recommended

On 26 February 2026, the Senate Economics Legislation Committee tabled a report recommending that the Senate pass the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025. As referred to in our Super Alert of 28 November 2025, the Bill proposes to make the following changes which will impact the superannuation industry:

• ‘establish a ban which prohibits insurers from using certain information about an individual’s genetic testing to inform the offer of life insurance cover, or the terms and conditions of the cover that is offered’; and
• implement the Government’s decision not to proceed with Stage 2 of the financial adviser registration process established by the Better Advice Act, which would have required individual financial advisers to register themselves with ASIC annually from 1 July 2026.

The Committee’s recommendation follows consideration of a range of submissions, most of which were broadly supportive of the measures to be introduced by the Bill.

Click here for details.

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