Objective of super: one step closer to legislation

The legislation passes lower house 

The Australian Government’s goal to legislate an objective for the nation’s superannuation system is a step closer to reality with the Superannuation (Objective) Bill 2023 passing through the House of Representatives on 19 March. The Bill will now go to the Senate for debate, where the Government will look for support from the Greens and minor parties to make the Bill law. 

The intention of the Bill is to introduce into law an objective for Australia’s superannuation system, and to require future superannuation law and regulatory changes be compatible with it. The objective proposed in the Bill is: 

The meanings of key concepts within the objective are expanded on in the Bill’s supporting documentation. Importantly for members, these documents make it clear that insurance in superannuation is compatible with the objective, linking insurance to the objective’s key concept of ‘deliver income’, using, as an example, the provision of an income stream via insurance payments. 

Responding to feedback 

The Superannuation Objective Bill will now go to the Senate, where the outcome will be influenced by a Senate Economics Committee report, which was released on 28th March. Acknowledging stakeholder feedback, the Committee report endorsed the proposed objective, and recommended the Senate pass the Bill as a priority.  

While not against the Bill being passed, Senators representing the opposition made an additional recommendation for the Government to develop a whole-of-retirement objective, outlining the objective of the retirement income system. The Australian Government has not responded to this recommendation. 

Next steps 

With the support of the Senate Economics Committee, the way is now clear for the Bill to pass the Senate, and this seems likely to occur later this year.