Govt’s faith-based super approach diverted

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

30 November 2022

The Federal Opposition is claiming a victory by successfully pushing Senate amendments to the Government legislation which would have allowed different superannuation performance test arrangements for faith-based products.

NSW Liberal Senator, Andrew Bragg said that the Government had accepted Opposition amendments to the legislation which effectively ended the carve-out for faith-based products.

The Opposition amendments called for the Government legislation – The Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 3) Bill – to only be b assed subject to amendment to ensure “the MySuper performance testing regime should remain solely focused on the best financial returns for members, without exception”.

The amendment also called for the proposed supplementary annual performance test for “faith-based” products to only be considered pending the outcome of Treasury’s current review of the Your Future, Your Super legislation.

The Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, had late yesterday not formally acknowledged the change of status for the proposed faith-based products approach.

Jones pursued the legislation on the basis of it having been an election commitment on the part of the Australian Labor Party.

Financial Newswire revealed last week that a dozen faith-based superannuation funds had already merged or were in the process of doing so, with Crescent Wealth one of the few which had yet to do so.