Industry to consult on super clearing house

The Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, Senator Nick Sherry, has announced the next step in the Government’s plan to reduce the administrative burden super choice places on small businesses.

At the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia conference last week, Sherry announced the release of a discussion paper centred around the implementation of the Government’s superannuation clearing house facility, as well as possible initiatives to reduce the number of lost super accounts.

Sherry said the optional clearing house facility will help to relieve the burden small businesses face in meeting super choice requirements, by allowing employers to pay their contributions to a single location. The facility will be free for employers with fewer than 20 staff.

The issues raised in the consultation paper include the division of responsibilities between employers and the clearing house, whether the clearing house facility should be contracted to a single or multiple providers, and the regulatory framework that would apply to the clearing house.

Sherry said that while the Government is committed to the right of staff to choose their superannuation fund, it is equally committed to making sure the costs of allowing such choice does not disproportionately impact on small business owners.

On other topics, Sherry said the Government is closely monitoring developments in the market for instalment warrants and their impact on superannuation funds during the period of volatility. He said he was aware of considerable comment about the impact of the 2007 legislative changes in relation to instalment warrants.

Meanwhile, the Government will assist the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on how it may report disaggregated long-term performance and volatility data for individual funds.

This will not duplicate the work of industry research houses, which currently report at the individual fund member investment level, Sherry said.

By publishing this information, APRA will not only serve the public interest, but also the interests of all industry participants. Making this data public will help to ensure a fully informed debate on medium to long-term fund performance and related issues, Sherry said.