A significant majority of delegates attending a Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF) panel session on default funds have defied industry fund policy by voting against the continued involvement of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in default fund selection.
The panel session was preceded by a live polling question asking delegates whether they believed default fund selection should be reliant on the involvement of the FWC with 65 per cent voting “no” to the proposition.
This immediately prompted panellist and Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) policy director, David Haynes, to point out that the poll outcome ran counter to the organisation’s policy.
Further, he said AIST annual general meeting had nominated default fund status as being one of three priority policy areas in 2016 alongside governance and tax.
He said the AIST strongly supported the continuing involvement of the FWC in default fund selection.
Haynes referenced the efforts of the former Howard Government to remove superannuation as an allowable matter in industrial awards and pointed out that the ability of the FWC to deal with default funds had been stymied because the Government had refused to make new appointments to the FWC expert panel advising on defaults.
The panel discussion argued that the Government’s preferred position of opening up defaults to all eligible MySuper funds would place too much pressure on employers.
