17th Jun 2021, 11:54 AM – Senate Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Future, Your Super) Bill 2021 - in Committee - Best financial interests duty

The majority voted in favour of a motion to leave schedule 3 unchanged - in parliamentary jargon, they voted that schedule 3 "stand as printed." That schedule relates to best financial interests duty.

What is this bill's main idea?

According to the bill homepage, the bill was introduced to:

• provide that if a new employee has an existing 'stapled' superannuation fund and does not choose a fund to receive contributions, their employer is required to make contributions on behalf of the employee into the stapled fund; and ensure that employers are not in breach of various rules, or are not liable for superannuation guarantee charge, in certain circumstances;
• require the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to conduct an annual performance test for MySuper products and other products to be specified in regulations;
• require trustees of registrable superannuation entities and self managed superannuation funds and directors of the corporate trustee of a registrable superannuation entity to perform their duties and exercise their powers in the best financial interests of the beneficiaries;
• reverse the evidential burden of proof for the best financial interests duty so that the onus is on the trustee of a registrable superannuation entity;
• allow regulations to be made to prohibit certain payments made by trustees of registrable superannuation entities and prescribe additional requirements on trustees and directors of trustee companies of registrable superannuation entities;
• allow contraventions of record-keeping obligations specified in regulations to be subject to a strict liability offence; and
• remove an exemption from disclosing information about certain investments under the portfolio holdings disclosure rules.