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ASIC launches proceedings against AustralianSuper
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has started civil proceedings against AustralianSuper, alleging failures to address multiple member accounts.
The regulator is alleging that the fund did not do enough to identify members who held multiple accounts and help them merge those accounts. Members with duplicate accounts continued to be charged fees for multiple accounts.
"Failing to merge duplicate accounts within a fund can have significant financial consequences for members who end up paying multiple sets of fees, eroding their superannuation balance over time," ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said.
ASIC says that between 1 July 2013 and 31 March 2023, approximately 90,000 AustralianSuper members were affected, and the total cost to members was approximately $69 million.
In a statement, an AustralianSuper spokesperson said: "AustralianSuper regrets that its processes to identify and combine multiple accounts did not cover all instances of multiple member accounts. This should not have happened, and we apologise unreservedly to members."
The fund implemented a member remediation program for the issue matter earlier this year, but ASIC is seeking declarations, pecuniary penalties and other orders against AustralianSuper in its civil proceedings.
