4 yearly reviews of default fund terms
Expert Panel on default funds
Default fund employee
Under s.149A and s.155A of the Fair Work Act 2009, by 31 December 2013, the Fair Work Commission must:
include a term in all modern awards permitting an employer from 1 January 2014 to make superannuation contributions for a default fund employee to a superannuation fund or scheme of which the employee is a defined benefit member, and
remove from modern awards any superannuation funds that do not offer a MySuper product, or are not an exempt public sector superannuation scheme.
About the Timetable
Division 4A of the Fair Work Act 2009 requires the Commission to review the default fund terms in modern awards every 4 years.
The first review will start shortly after 1 January 2014, and will include:
the Commission's Expert Panel on default funds making and publishing a Default Superannuation List, and a Schedule of Approved Employer MySuper Products
a Full Bench of the Commission reviewing and varying the default fund terms in modern awards.
About the Default Superannuation List
About the Schedule of Approved Employer MySuper Products
About varying modern award default fund terms
Note: on 10 June 2014, Justice Ross issued a Statement ([2014] FWC 3840) that the Expert Panel as currently constituted will not deal further with the Superannuation fund reviews.
The Expert Panel on default funds, established for the 4 yearly review, consists of 7 Members of the Commission.
The Expert Panel on default funds, established for the 4 yearly review, consists of full-time Presidential or Commissioner members of the Commission and part-time members who have knowledge of or experience in:
investment management, or
superannuation.
The Chair is either the President of the Commission, or a Presidential Member appointed by the President.
A default fund employee is an employee who has not chosen a superannuation fund for the contributions required to be made by their employer.
From this site you can access information about the Commission's current and future reviews of superannuation clauses in modern awards.
Material considered in the reviews will be made available on this website, including:
timeframes, and
transcripts of public consultations.
Additional information can be found on the Commission's website on the following pages:
Find an award
To find out which modern award applies to you, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman's website at www.fairwork.gov.au.
For information about superannuation payments, visit the Australian Taxation Office's website at www.ato.gov.au, or contact their Superannuation hotline on 13 10 20.
For information about MySuper products and what to consider when choosing a superannuation fund, visit the Money Smart website at www.moneysmart.gov.au.
Fair Work Ombudsman
Money Smart