Union deregistrations will have little impact on super boards

Deregistration of a trade union would not necessarily preclude its representatives sitting on the board of an industry superannuation fund.

Amid moves by the Government to crack down on building industry unions, the Parliament has been told that deregistration of a trade union would not necessarily serve to reduce its influence with respect to industry superannuation funds.

Answering a question on notice from Tasmanian Liberal Senator, David Bushby the Minister for Finance representing the Treasurer in the Senate, Senator Mathias Cormann said that in many instances matters would be left to the discretion of the superannuation fund board and the nature of the fund's constitution.

"The action required to be taken by the Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE) licensee in the event of the de-registration of a sponsoring union responsible for nominating directors would be likely to depend on the provisions in the trustee's constitution (or other relevant policies or agreements) that are relevant to the appointment and removal of directors," the minister's answer said.

"These provisions may require replacement of the relevant directors in such a scenario, but this would not necessarily be the case," it said.

"If, for example, the board determines that, despite deregistration of the nominating trade union, the union-nominated member representatives are still able to represent the interests of members on the board, the board may choose to operate without any change of directors (subject to any relevant appointment or removal provisions as noted above)."

However, the Minister's answer did suggest that it was open to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to ensure superannuation fund boards applied the "fit and proper" test to the appointment of directors.