T H E L E A D I N G I N D E P E N D E N T J O U R N A L FO R T H E S U P E R A N N U AT I O N A N D I N S T I T U T I O N A L F U N D S M A N A G E M E N T I N D U S T RY MARCH 2012
Volume 26 - Issue 2
Long delays on improved APRA data 3 DEFAULT FUNDS
Productivity Commission queries role of industrial judiciary
MIKE TAYLOR reports that a series of decisions taken by APRA since 2009 means the industry is unlikely to see the results of upgraded superannuation data collection before 2015.
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“We actually started the consultation process on the new collection in 2009, and then the Government announced the inquiry. We put it on hold,” Jones said. He said that, as well, APRA had concluded – following discussions with the industry – that to have proceeded with the consultation process around statistical collections at the same time as other standards were being implemented would have left them overloaded. In answer to a question from Tasmanian Liberal Senator David Bushby, Jones admitted APRA’s decisions with respect to statistical collections had delayed the process by “a couple of years”. He also acknowledged it would now take a number of years before the new regime was introduced. “Given that now we are having consultation in the second half of 2012, we would still hope that we could begin the collection on 1 July 2013,” Jones told the Senate Committee. “But that is starting to look tight.” The APRA deputy chairman said much would depend on the way the consultation process evolved, but in any event, the regulator focused on the long-term rather than
he processes of the Cooper Review, followed by the Government’s Stronger Super changes, saw the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) place its upgrading of superannuation statistical collections virtually ‘on hold’ from 2009. Further, the regulator appears unlikely to deliver on its upgraded superannuation data collection until around 2015. That is the bottom line of evidence delivered to Senate Estimates, with APRA deputy chairman Ross Jones confirming that the existing regime – which has been the subject of some industry criticism – is likely to remain in place for at least another two or three years. In doing so, Jones acknowledged that consultation with the industry on the collection of more comprehensive data, as requested by former Financial Services minister, Senator Nick Sherry, had been placed on hold since 2009. “… what happened was that we started the consultation process, and then the terms of reference for the Cooper inquiry included statistics – so we put that on hold until we got the Government response,” he told Senate Estimates. 3
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Ross Jones
“We will continue to publish returns at the fund level because the fund level statistic is the measure of the trustee performance.” - Ross Jones
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quarterly statistics, and he would prefer APRA had a couple of years’ worth of statistics. He agreed with Senator Bushby that on such a basis it was likely to be 2015 before the industry saw the new regime. Jones said that in the meantime, APRA would continue its existing statistical regime based on publishing returns at the fund level, and this might even continue after the new data collection regime was put in place. “We will continue to publish returns at the fund level because the fund level statistic is the measure of the trustee performance, and that is what APRA’s focus is, because we are looking at the behaviour of the trustees,” he said. “In terms of the investment option information, that information certainly would be far more relevant to individual members,” Jones said. SR 27 ROLLOVER
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