AustralianSuper was launched on 1 July 2006 following the merger of Australian Retirement Fund (ARF) and Superannuation Trust of Australia (STA). The merger drew on a combined 1.2 million members from over 65,000 employers and over $20 billion in assets, making AustralianSuper one of the largest superannuation funds in the country.
As a bigger and better-resourced fund we anticipate AustralianSuper will deliver a number of key benefits to members, including:
- An increased range and higher quality of products and services
- Greater economies of scale which we can use to keep costs low
- A single, stronger brand more able to compete in the superannuation marketplace.
In particular, extra benefits to members included the expansion of the Member Investment Choice suite to 15 diverse options – including PreMixed and DIY Mix options, and the ASX 200 Shares Investment Options – and a competitively priced insurance product that offers members more cover for their money.
AustralianSuper will strive to deliver strong long-term investment returns, low fees and improved products and services while staying committed to run only to profit members.
Contacting the Fund
You can contact AustralianSuper by phone, fax, email or address. You may also wish to refer to our FAQ's to answer your query or log onto MemberOnline.
Insurance
AustralianSuper provides members with access to affordable Death, Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) and Income Protection insurance.
Cover is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week – not just when you’re at work – so you can rest easy knowing you are covered.
In addition, AustralianSuper members who are insured will benefit from:
-
Premiums (the cost of each unit) at discounted bulk rates, less than you may pay as an individual
-
Hassle-free payments, with premiums deducted from your account each month
- The option to increase your cover at any time to suit your needs (subject to meeting the insurer’s health evidence requirements).
AustralianSuper insurance is provided by CommInsure, the registered business name of The Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Ltd ABN 12 004 021 809 AFSL 235 035 (CMLA).
Click here for more information regarding AustralianSuper's insurance options.
Investments
There are now 15 investment options available to members of AustralianSuper.
Use the below table to see where your money is now invested.
Members who have made an investment choice will have their account balance automatically transferred to the equivalent investment option as noted above. For example:
- ARF members with money in the Active Investment Option will have this transferred to the High Growth Investment Option in AustralianSuper
- An STA member with money in the Shares Plus Investment Option will have this transferred to the High Growth Investment Option in AustralianSuper
- A Finsuper member with money in the High Growth Investment Option will stay with that Option.
Members who have not made an investment choice will have their account balance automatically transferred to AustralianSuper’s default Option – the Balanced Investment Option.
Single Company Plan – Coles Myer
If you were an STA member and you invested in the Single Company Plan - Coles Myer option, your Coles Myer shares have been automatically transferred into the ASX 200 Shares Investment Option from 1 July 2006. You will not pay the annual participation fee for the ASX 200 Shares Investment option unless and until you invest in another ASX listed company within that Option or unless or until you invest in more Coles Myer Limited shares.
Macquarie Equities Limited will charge participating members brokerage (excluding GST) per trade as follows:
| Trade amount |
Brokerage |
| $0.00 - $4,167 |
$12.50 |
| $4,168 - $10,000 |
0.30% |
| $10,001 - $30,000 |
0.20% |
| $30,001 - $50,000 |
0.18% |
| $50,001 - $100,000 |
0.15% |
|
$100,001 - $10,000,000
|
0.10% |
A minimum buy order of $1,500 applies.
Investment switching
Members can make an investment choice on a weekly basis.
Switching between investment options other than the ASX 200 Shares Investment Option
Applications to switch between investment options - except the ASX 200 Shares Investment Option - that are received by AustralianSuper during Monday to Friday or by midnight Sunday if submitted via your MemberOnline will be effective the following Wednesday. Please click here to read more about our investment switching policy.
You can make one switch between investment options per week - there is no fee to do so.
Buying/selling shares in the ASX 200 Shares Investment Option
Applications to buy or sell stocks in the ASX 200 Shares Investment Option that are received by AustralianSuper between 1pm Friday and 1pm the following Friday – or by Sunday midnight if submitted via MemberOnline – will be implemented on the first trading day of the following week ie. the following Monday (or next day in the event of a public holiday).
The buy or sell price for each stock will be the average AustralianSuper trade-weighted price for both buy and sell orders and you will be sent a letter confirming the buy/sell price.
You may apply for as many trades as you like or change any pending trade not yet processed up until the 1 pm Friday close-off time or midnight Sunday in MemberOnline. However, all trades will be processed once a week as outlined above and the last change made is the one that will be forwarded to Macquarie Equities Limited for action.
Administration fees
As an Industry Superannuation Fund, AustralianSuper will continue to build members’ superannuation savings through low fees and strong, long-term investment returns.
The main administration fee details to apply from 1 July 2006 are detailed in the following table.
| Fee/Cost |
Previous ARF fee |
Previous STA fee |
Previous Finsuper fee |
AustralianSuper fee |
| Weekly administration fee* |
$1.10 per week |
$1.00 per week |
$1.50 per week |
$1.00 per week |
| Withdrawal fee |
$35.00 per transaction |
$35.00 per transaction |
$45.00 per transaction |
$35.00 per transaction |
| Family Law Information Request |
$50.00 |
$80.00 |
$100.00 |
$50.00 |
| Family Law Split |
$70.00 |
$55.35 |
$100.00 |
$70.00 |
| Contribution Splitting fee |
|
|
|
$70.00 |
| Member Benefit Protection fee |
The Member Benefit Protection (MBP) fee protects members with low balance accounts (less than $1,000) from administration fee erosion. It is deducted from the overall earnings of the Fund before investment returns are declared. This fee is in the range of 0.0% to 0.2% and varies from year to year.
For 2006/2007 this amounted to 0.02% of total assets.
|
| Investment costs |
For the 2006/2007 financial year, the figure ranged from 0.07% pa to 1.05% pa of your account balance, depending on your investment option. Click here for a detailed list. |
*An ARF member previously paid an administration fee of $1.10 per week with the relevant tax deduction benefit going into the members account, so the net cost to the member was $0.935 per week. The tax deduction of the new fee of $1.00 per week (consistent with the current STA approach) will be retained by the fund to meet operating costs and to provide enhanced member services. Therefore the new fee of $1.00 per week represents a small increase in the administration fees for ARF members from $0.935 per week (after tax) to $1.00 per week (after tax). STA members will continue to pay $1.00 per week on the same basis as described above. A payment will be made from STA's reserves into the reserves of AustralianSuper in recognition of the administration fee increase paid by former ARF members.
Binding death nominations
AustralianSuper will also offer binding death benefit nominations for a small fee. For former ARF and FinSuper members, this is a new feature.
Did you have an account with both ARF and STA?
If so, we have merged your accounts into one. However, if you are still receiving more than one AustralianSuper Member Statement, please contact the Fund to arrange a consolidation of accounts.