The president of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has blamed successive Abbott and Turnbull Government ministers for preventing the FWC conducting its four-yearly review of default funds.
In what represents an almost unprecedented move by a member of the industrial judiciary, FWC president, Justice Iain Ross has used a submission to the Productivity Commission’s review of alternative default models to claim the Government has prevented the four-yearly review by failing to appoint a new member to an FWC expert panel.
Reviving memories of the Financial Services Council’s (FSC’s) 2014 Federal Court challenge to the validity of the make-up of the expert panel, Justice Ross’s submission to the Productivity Commission makes clear that no progress has been possible since the court action occurred because the Government has not been prepared to act.
“As a consequence of the decision of the Federal Court in Financial Services Council Ltd v Industry Super Australia Pty Ltd and anor ([2014] FCAFC 92, it was not possible to establish the Expert Panel on Superannuation in accordance with the Act,” his submission said. “As a consequence the Commission has been unable to conduct the review of default superannuation funds.”
Ross said he had written to the Government and had “advised the relevant ministers of the Commission’s inability to progress this review of default superannuation and sought their advice as to the Government’s intention on how to resolve this issue”.
Further, he said he had written to successive ministers over the past three years, including Eric Abetz, and Michaelia Cash.
“Minister Abetz indicated that the Government was actively considering the issue in April 2015, but there have not been any further appointments made to the expert panel,” he said.
“The commission remains willing to complete the four-yearly review into default superannuation funds if and when the Government appoints a new expert panel member who does not have a potential conflict of interest on the issues.”
