Equity Trustees Super cops $782,500 APRA fine

Equity Trustees Superannuation has been fined $782,000 by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority for failing to meet its legal obligations around data reporting.

APRA said Equity Trustees Superannuation had breached the requirements of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act by failing to report data by the required deadlines for two funds under its trusteeship – AMG Super and Super Simplifier.

It said the company lodged nine reporting forms 50 days late for AMG Supe and six reporting forms 38 days late for Super Simplifier for the quarter ended 30 September, 2023.

APRA deputy chair, Margaret Cole said that by issuing the fine the regulator wanted to send a clear message to the industry about the importance of submitting data on time.

Equity Trustees has issued a statement saying it accepts the the required reporting standards were not met and that it recognises the importance of timely data.

The statement noted that, “importantly, no members were impacted by the late reporting of the data”.

“Steps were taken immediately with the fund administrator once it became clear they were not able to meet the required deadline with ETSL promptly informing the regulator and maintaining communication throughout on progress to address the situation,” it said.

“Equity Trustees took all prudent and reasonable steps to abide by the conditions of the relevant Act. In this instance Equity Trustees sought to prioritise accurate reporting of data, rather than meeting the required time-frame.”