In the 2019-20 Budget, the Government announced its intention to establish a consumer advocacy body for superannuation. The complex and compulsory nature of superannuation necessitates an independent consumer body with specialist knowledge.
The objective of the advocacy body will be to become the voice of consumers in policy discussions and to support access to information to educate and assist consumers, including vulnerable consumers, to navigate the superannuation system. The advocacy body will be required to leverage current financial literacy initiatives, such as MoneySmart.
This expression of interest is the first step in the process to implement Recommendation 28, of the Productivity Commission's Superannuation: Assessing Efficiency and Competitiveness report, for an independent, adequately‑resourced superannuation members' advocacy body.
This process will inform Treasury's advice to Government about options to establish the advocacy body.
Treasury invites interested parties to respond to this process and to address the topics outlined below, as well as any other relevant information by 13 January 2020.
- Functions and outcomes: What core functions and outcomes do you consider could be delivered by the advocacy body? What additional functions and outcomes could also be considered? What functions would the advocacy body provide that are not currently available?
- Ongoing costs: What would be the indicative ongoing costs of delivering these functions? What would be the indicative costs of delivering any additional functions?
- Establishment: What would be the likely set-up costs for the advocacy body and approximately how long would it take to establish such a body?
- Governance and accountability: What governance and accountability models (including assessment of impact and performance) do you consider to be most appropriate for the advocacy body?