Superannuation Legislation Amendment (MySuper Measures) Regulation 2013

Submission Date: 14 May 2013

This submission has been prepared by the Superannuation Committee (the Committee) of the Legal Practice Section of the Law Council of Australia.

The Committee’s objectives are to ensure that the law relating to superannuation in Australia is sound, equitable and demonstrably clear. The Committee makes submissions and provides comments on the legal aspects of virtually all proposed legislation, circulars, policy papers and other regulatory instruments which affect superannuation funds.

The draft regulations relating to product dashboards and portfolio holdings disclosure have been drafted in a style which is quite unlike other regulations applying to superannuation funds. This style is confusing and unclear. Fund trustees, their staff, service providers and advisers could have difficulty understanding what is required. The rule of law requires that Parliament make laws that are clear and written in such a way that those who are to be bound by them can readily determine the nature and extent of their obligations, and understand the consequences that will arise if they fail to comply. The Committee is concerned that the draft regulations may not meet this standard.¹

The drafting which attempts to describe, in words, the layout of the templates for portfolio holdings disclosure is particularly challenging. Given that the proposed templates are eventually set out in the regulations, the Committee queries why the layout needs to be described in words at all. After all, superannuation funds are accustomed to using prescribed templates: for example, with regard to fee disclosure in Product Disclosure Statements (PDSs).

^{1 Law Council of Australia, Rule of Law Principles, March 2011.} 

Last Updated on 27/05/2025

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