The Super Members Council has strongly welcomed the Australian Government’s plan to introduce mandatory service standards for superannuation funds.
Member service is at the heart of what superannuation funds do. This is a clear way to ensure millions of Australians get the service they rightly deserve by setting minimum service standards that uplift customer service across the industry.
The new standards will focus on the key service areas of processing death benefits, insurance claims, and communications with members.
Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert said super fund members rightly expect the highest standards of service, communication, and care.
“Super funds have tens of millions of interactions with their members every year, and members expect those interactions to be timely, responsive and clear.”
“We look forward to working with the Government to ensure the new mandatory standards improve the experience when members are dealing with their fund - often on complex and challenging issues.”
Developing the new standards through industry consultation will ensure the Government can draw on the significant work that has already been undertaken by industry to lift standards.
SMC held a roundtable in February 2024 with Government and industry to identify initiatives to streamline and strengthen customer service, including:
- Creating a simple and digital binding death nomination form – which would eliminate the need for submitting hardcopy forms with dual signatures from two witnesses. Claims with binding nominations are generally able to be processed more efficiently
- Ensuring all ID documents issued by States and Territories are included in the Government's digital verification service and that the detail on death certificates is enough to process claims
- Legally recognising Indigenous kinship arrangements and culturally adopted children as death benefit beneficiaries.
A new service standard on death benefit payments was launched in September 2024.
That process was convened by ASFA and involved funds, consumer groups, SMC, CALI, and the regulators, and was led by expert and former Chair of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal, Jocelyn Furlan.
Contact details:
Media contact: James Gunn +61 416 525 656 [email protected]