APRA wants super disqualification powers
The deputy chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), Helen Rowell has claimed it is difficult for the regulator to pursue wrongdoers under its current powers.
Confronted by tough questioning during Senate estimates about a former NSW superannuation fund executive named by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Rowell said APRA had previously been on the record as saying that there was room for strengthened powers in the superannuation industry for it to deal with individuals in particular.
“We do not have the same breadth of directions powers in super as we do in other industries” she said. “That is under consideration at the moment.”
“Obviously, the strengthened disqualification powers and the ability for us to directly disqualify, which was part of the Budget measures, will potentially assist as well.
“It is quite challenging for us at the moment to pursue individuals within the industry, because of the constraints under the legislation,” Rowell said.
The chair of the Senate Economics Committee, Victorian Liberal Senator, Jane Hume had earlier stated to Rowel that it was her [Senator Hume’s] understanding “that a senior executive of a very large superannuation fund, a fund managing $2.6 billion of compulsory retirement savings on behalf of Australian workers” had been sacked.
“I think it is a matter of public record that that senior executive was sacked as the general manager of a New South Wales public entity as a result of a referral from ICAC to the relevant department and subsequent internal and external investigations into his conduct.”
“That was 13 years ago. Is APRA aware of this particular case?” Senator Hume asked.
When Rowell said she was unaware of the case in question and would need to take the question on notice, Senator Hume asked: “Does APRA think that more powers and tougher legislation are needed to prudently protect consumers from poor outcomes as a result of poor governance in the superannuation industry?”
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