Compensation for delayed processing of your transaction request

You made a transaction request, being a transfer out of your AustralianSuper account or a benefit payment from your AustralianSuper account, between September 2022 and May 2023. Unfortunately, that transaction wasn’t processed as quickly as it should have been. The delay in processing resulted in a financial loss to your account so we’ve made, or we’re making, a payment to return your account to the position it would have been in had this delay not occurred.

Your Total Remediation Payment will be comprised of the Financial Loss Amount, any returns you would’ve received if the delay hadn’t occurred and, if Administration Fees were deducted from your account during the period the processing of your transaction was delayed, a refund of the asset-based component of the Administration Fee. In addition, if your account was closed as a result of the processing of your impacted transaction(s), any flat, dollar-based component of Administration Fees and insurance premiums deducted during the delay period will also be refunded.

Financial Loss Amount

To calculate the Financial Loss Amount incurred due to the processing of a transaction being delayed, we’ve:

1. Identified the date the transaction should have been processed*.
2. Identified the date the transaction was actually processed.
3. Identified the dollar amount of the transaction.
4. Identified the investment option(s) used when processing the transaction.
5. Completed a calculation to determine the financial impact of the delay in processing the transaction.
6. If the value of the transaction decreased during the period between when the transaction should’ve been processed and the date it was actually processed, you experienced a financial loss and will be remediated. This is the Financial Loss Amount.

*If you made a number of requests (e.g. requests, enquiries, document submissions) in relation to your transaction between September 2022 and May 2023, we’ve applied an average date approach to determine the date the transaction should have been processed.

Returns you would’ve received if the delay hadn’t occurred

The investment returns you would’ve received if the delay hadn’t occurred will be applied to the Financial Loss Amount. These will be calculated as follows:

• If your account impacted by the delayed transactions is still open in AustralianSuper, we will apply the returns of your applicable investment option(s) from one day after the transaction was processed until the date AustralianSuper completes the Total Remediation Payment calculation.
• If the account impacted by the delayed transactions is now closed, we will apply the RBA Cash Rate +6% from the day after your account was closed to the date AustralianSuper completes the Total Remediation Payment calculation.

Administration Fees – Asset-based component

The Administration Fee is made up of two components — a flat, dollar-based component and a variable asset-based component that is capped.

For Accumulation accounts, the Administration Fee is deducted directly from your account on the last Friday of each month and the asset-based component is calculated based on your closing account balance on this date and is pro-rated based on the number of Fridays in the month. For TTR Income and Choice Income accounts, the Administration Fee is deducted directly from your account on the last day of each month with the asset-based component calculated on your closing account balance on this date and pro-rated based on the number of days in the month.

• As the asset-based component of the Administration Fee is calculated based on the balance of your account, delays in processing your transaction may have impacted the calculation of this fee. If the processing delay occurred over the fee deduction period (last Friday of a month for Accumulation accounts, and last day of a month for TTR and Choice Income accounts), the asset-based component will have been calculated using the account balance before the transaction was processed.
• To ensure you are compensated for potentially inflated asset-based fees deducted due to transaction processing delays, the asset-based component will be calculated using the closing account balance as at the original date of fee deduction less the value of the transaction, and the difference will be refunded.
• Returns you would’ve received had the delay not occurred will also be calculated and applied to the refund of the asset-based component, calculated from one day after the Administration Fee deduction date.

If your delayed transaction was a full withdrawal or rollover which resulted in the closure of your account in the Fund

• You will be refunded both the asset-based and the flat dollar-based components of the Administration Fee charged after the date the transaction should have been processed.
• If you held insurance cover until your account was closed, any insurance premiums charged during the Impact Period will be refunded. 
• Loss of earnings will also be calculated and applied. 

Additional Returns

Additional Returns will be included in your Total Remediation Payment, using the RBA Cash Rate +6%, compounded daily for 14 days to allow sufficient time for us to process the Total Remediation Payments.

In relation to each transfer out or benefit payment request you made between September 2022 and May 2023:

• If your request was delayed and this resulted in a financial loss to your account, you will receive a remediation payment to put your account back into the position you would have been, or as close as possible to that position, had the delay not occurred.
• If your request was delayed and this resulted in a financial gain to your account (due to higher investment returns during the period the processing of your transaction was delayed), you won’t receive a remediation payment. We also won’t seek to recover those gains.
• We are still in the process of investigating other delayed payment request types and may need to write to you again if you’re impacted.

If the superannuation account that was impacted by the delayed transaction(s) is still open in AustralianSuper, we’ll pay the remediation payment to that account. 

If the superannuation account that was impacted by the delayed transaction(s) is closed but you have another account open in AustralianSuper, we’ll pay the remediation payment to that account.

If your benefit payment in AustralianSuper was transferred to an account in another superannuation fund, we’ll pay the remediation payment to that account. If you’d like your remediation payment paid to a different account, you can let us know by completing the Get Your Remediation Payment form that was attached to the letter we sent you.

By law, we can only pay your payment to you (via your nominated bank account) if you’ve met a condition of release. These include:

• turning age 65,
• ceasing employment on or after age 60, and
• reaching preservation age and permanently retiring.

You can obtain more information about the conditions of release on the ATO’s website (ato.gov.au).

If you have met a condition of release with a nil cashing restriction, your payment amount will be made to the same back account your benefit payment was transferred to (unless you let us know that you’d like it paid to another account by completing the Get Your Remediation Payment form that was attached to the letter we sent you).

If you have a Choice Income account, your payment amount has been paid or will be paid to the same bank account your Choice Income account payments are paid into (unless you let us know that you’d like it paid to another account by completing the Get Your Remediation Payment form that was attached to the letter we sent you).

Your letter may have also advised that unless we hear from you, either by returning the Get your remediation payment form or by contacting us directly, your payment will be made to your active TTR Income account. We’ll send you a confirmation letter when this has happened.

Will my payment count towards my non-concessional contributions cap? If so, what happens and where do I find more information?

Yes, your payment amount will count towards your non-concessional contributions cap for the financial year ending 30 June 2025 regardless of where it is paid.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has established a streamlined process for members who exceed their non-concessional contributions cap after receiving this payment.

If you believe you may exceed the non-concessional contributions cap because of this payment, you may wish to lodge an Application – excess contributions determination (NAT 71333) with the ATO for their consideration, to have this payment disregarded for the purposes of your non-concessional contributions cap. This Application form can be accessed via the ATO’s website, ato.gov.au, by entering QC 20122 into the search facility. If you decide to apply to have your payment amount disregarded for the purposes of your non-concessional contributions cap, you need to include the following information with your application:

• the amount of the remediation payment received because of this error which has counted towards your non-concessional contributions cap
• a request to have this payment amount disregarded so that it does not count towards your non-concessional contributions cap/s for the relevant financial year/s, and
• a copy of the letter we sent you regarding your compensation payment.

Further information about non-concessional contributions, the non-concessional contributions cap and requesting to have non-concessional contributions disregarded or reallocated can be found on the ATO’s website by entering QC 23223, QC 19749 and QC 73090 into the search facility. You can keep track of your non-concessional contributions by logging onto your myGov account, navigating to ATO online services and then selecting Super, then Information, then non-concessional contributions.

No, your current investment option(s) will not be changed.

If you have an active AustralianSuper account, your payment amount will be invested in accordance with your current investment choice for future contributions. The payment will appear as an Account Adjustment in the transaction history of your active account.

As noted in Why is my payment paid back into my super account and not to my bank account? above, for Choice Income accounts, your payment amount will be paid to the same bank account your Choice Income account payments are paid into, not to your Choice Income account.

If you have an active AustralianSuper accumulation account, your payment amount has already been paid to this account.

If you have an active Choice Income account, your payment amount has already been paid or will be paid (on or about 61 days from the date of our letter) to the same bank account your Choice Income account payments are paid into.

If the account impacted by the delayed transaction(s) is now closed, and you no longer hold an account with AustralianSuper, on or about 61 days from the date of our letter, the payment will be made to the superannuation or bank account that your benefit payment was transferred to (unless you let us know that you’d like it paid to another account by completing the Get Your Remediation Payment form that was attached to the letter we sent you).

If you have an active AustralianSuper accumulation account, your payment amount has already been paid to this account so you do not need to do anything.

If you have a Choice Income account, your payment amount has been paid or will be paid (on or about 61 days from the date of our letter) to the same bank account your Choice Income account payments are paid into unless you let us know that you’d like it paid to another account by completing the Get Your Remediation Payment form that was attached to the letter we sent you. You have 45 days from the date of the letter to return the completed form to us.

Your letter may have also advised that unless we hear from you, either by returning the Get your remediation payment form or by contacting us directly, your payment will be made to your active TTR Income account. We’ll send you a confirmation letter when this has been completed.

If you no longer have an active AustralianSuper account, your payment amount will be paid to the account your benefit payment was transferred to unless you let us know that you’d like it paid to another account by completing the Get Your Remediation Payment form that was attached to the letter we sent you. You have 45 days from the date of the letter to return the completed form to us.

If we don’t hear from you and we find that the account that we made your last payment to is closed, we’ll transfer the payment to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as a Trustee Voluntary Payment (TVP). Once transferred, you can claim this amount by calling the ATO on 13 28 65.  

Members or former members

Members or former members can call our dedicated phone line 1800 204 194 from 9am to 5pm AEST/AEDT weekdays or speak to their financial adviser (if they have one).

As an AustralianSuper member, you can access a mix of advice options including general information, simple personal advice¹ over the phone or comprehensive personal financial advice¹ (which may incur additional costs). For details visit australiansuper.com/advice.

¹ Personal financial product advice is provided under the Australian Financial Services Licence held by a third party and not by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd. Some personal advice may attract a fee, which would be outlined before any work is completed and is subject to your agreement. With your approval, the fee for advice relating to your AustralianSuper account may be deducted from your AustralianSuper account subject to eligibility criteria.

I’ve received a letter about an additional payment. What do I need to do and who can I talk to?

If you’ve received a letter about a death benefit payment with a Get your additional payment form enclosed, please complete the form with the nominated bank account details following the instructions, and return the signed form to us via email or post:

• scan the completed and signed form and email to RemDeceasedEstates@australiansuper.com, or
• post the completed and signed form using the enclosed Reply Paid envelope.

When completing the form, you will also need to provide the necessary certified identity documents (listed in the form) to verify your identity.

When we receive your completed form and the required documents, we need to successfully verify your identity. We’ll aim to pay the payment amount to the nominated bank account within five business days. Once that process is completed, we’ll send you a confirmation letter.

If you’ve received a letter about a death benefit payment where we have requested that you contact us directly (no form will be enclosed with the letter), please contact our Remediation Deceased Estates team to find out about next steps:

• email RemDeceasedEstates@australiansuper.com, or
• call 03 9117 1205 from 9am to 5pm AEST/AEDT weekdays.

Will the payment count towards my non-concessional contributions cap?

No, your payment amount will not count towards your non-concessional contributions cap. However, it will count towards the late member's non-concessional contributions cap for the financial year ending 30 June 2025. Please refer to the question above What about tax?

I’m receiving a payment as a beneficiary. Will I pay tax on the payment?

Resident beneficiary

The payment amount forms part of the death benefit. When it is paid to a beneficiary that is not a dependant for tax purposes, any taxable component of the payment will be subject to tax. Where it is paid to a beneficiary that is a dependant for tax purposes, it will be tax-free.

Where the payment is subject to tax, beneficiaries will be sent a PAYG payment summary within 14 days of payment which will show the amount of total tax withheld.

Non-resident beneficiary

Where the payment amount is paid to you as a beneficiary, and you are a foreign resident for Australian tax purposes, the payment will receive the same tax treatment as for a resident beneficiary (see directly above). This is because the payment is considered Australian sourced income. The main difference is that as a non-resident beneficiary, you should be exempt from the Medicare levy. However, if you have not provided a tax file number (TFN) to us, you may pay higher tax on any taxable component.

If your country of tax residency has a double tax agreement with Australia, there may be no Australian tax imposed on the payment. Beneficiaries need to check the taxation laws of their country and whether it has a tax treaty with Australia.

I’m receiving a payment as the Legal Personal Representative (LPR) of a late member’s estate. Will I pay tax on the payment?

If a Beneficiary isn’t contactable, what steps will AustralianSuper take?

AustralianSuper will make all reasonable attempts using various communication methods (letter, email and phone) to contact a Beneficiary about their remediation payment and make payment.

If multiple attempts (at least three) fail to establish contact with the Beneficiary after exhausting all possible communication avenues, the Beneficiary’s case will be closed. The remediation payment amount will then be transferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as unclaimed money. We process these transfers to the ATO every six months by 30 April and 31 October. Once transferred, the Beneficiary can claim the unclaimed money from the ATO, by calling them on 13 10 20 or +61 2 6216 1111 (from overseas). For more information, refer to the Unclaimed super money received from super funds section of the ATO website.

If you have a complaint, please discuss it with us by:

• calling 1800 204 194 9am to 5pm AEST/AEDT weekdays,
• emailing your complaint to us at complaints@australiansuper.com,
• filling in an online form at australiansuper.com/email, or
• writing to the Complaints Officer, AustralianSuper, GPO Box 1901, MELBOURNE VIC 3001.

We aim to address all complaints as soon as possible and generally within 45 days of receiving your complaint. However, you can ask your assigned Complaint Officer for an update at any stage.

If you are not happy with our response to your complaint, or if you have not received a response within 45 days, you can contact the Fund's external complaints resolution body, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA provides fair and independent financial services complaint resolution that is free to consumers. However, before raising a complaint with AFCA, we encourage members to utilise the complaints procedures of the Fund.

Australian Financial Complaints Authority
GPO BOX 3
MELBOURNE VIC 3001
Telephone: 1800 931 678
Email: info@afca.org.au
Website: afca.org.au