ASIC sues AustralianSuper over death benefits claims

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

12 March 2025

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced it is suing AustralianSuper over delayed processing of death benefit claims.

The regulator said that it had initiated action in the Federal Court alleging that between 1 July 2019 and 18 October 2024, AustralianSuper failed to process death benefit claims efficiently, honestly and fairly when it took between four months and four years from the date the claim form was returned to assess at least 6,897 death benefit claims.

ASIC also alleges AustralianSuper failed to pay member’s benefits as soon as practicable after the member’s death in respect of at least 752 members. In one case, despite having all the information required to pay the benefit, it took AustralianSuper 1,140 days to make the payment; others took 438, 412 and 366 days.

In 254 cases, AustralianSuper took between 15 to 213 days to provide the claim form, according to ASIC’s allegations.

ASIC Deputy Chair, Sarah Court said, ‘At its heart, this matter is about protecting vulnerable Australians and their families.

‘It is vital that death benefit claims are processed in a timely manner. Delays are likely to cause further pain and anxiety to people who are already suffering from grief, making what is already a difficult time even harder.’