Super funds welcome advertising guardrails

Major superannuation fund lobby group the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has welcomed new legislation which dictates that MySuper funds must have passed the superannuation fund performance test to be advertised to new employees.

ASFA chief executive, Mary Delahunty said the organisation would work with the Government to implement the legislative changes.

The changes were introduced into the House of Representatives as part of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Bill 2025 with Delahunty noting that they build on landmark Payday Super reforms earlier in November.

She described the legislation as a series of “pro-member” reforms that build on the achievements of the Payday Super reforms.

“The approach in the Bill strikes a balance between maximising member choice, ensuring workers are presented with options, and knowing that they are in the best performing product for them, while continuing to ensure that the number of Australians with more than one super account continues to reduce.

“While sensible guardrails around advertising are essential to prevent the proliferation of duplicate accounts, advertising also has a legitimate role in a choice-based superannuation system. Increasing engagement with superannuation always pays off for people, and taking on a new job is a great time to prompt that conversation.

“Starting a new job is one of the few times many people pause and think about their super. We should use that moment to put clear, comparable information in front of them so they can see what’s out there and ensure they are in the best option for their age, stage, and individual needs,” Delahunty said.

The ASFA statement said the legislation will introduce a framework around when and how superannuation fund products can be advertised to employees during the onboarding process.

Where an onboarding platform chooses to advertise, it will be required to display an employee’s stapled fund where one exists. Products that can be advertised will be limited to the employee’s stapled fund, the employer’s default fund, and MySuper products that have passed the most recent annual performance test.

To be advertised during onboarding, a MySuper product must have passed the Annual Superannuation Performance Test. The person advertising the product must not be related to the fund offering the product. The person advertising the MySuper product must have requested an employee’s stapled fund and provided those details to the employee should they be available. Any advertisement must also be accompanied by “clear and unambiguous” disclosures.

The government has clarified that the ban does not apply to advertising undertaken in the ordinary course of business, only during the onboarding process.