ASIC Warns Super Funds Over Rising Complaints and Enforcement Risk
Australia’s corporate regulator has warned superannuation trustees to improve how they handle member complaints or face possible enforcement action. ASIC found…
Australian Securities and Investments Commission commissioner Simone Constant warned superannuation trustees on Monday, November 2, 2026, that they could face enforcement action if they fail to improve how they handle customer complaints. The warning comes as complaints against super funds rose by more than 40 per cent last financial year.
The regulator said some trustees were too quick to blame members rather than investigate whether service delays, payment errors or system problems lay behind complaints. Unresolved issues can expose customers to harm and weaken trust in Australia’s retirement savings system.
“Blaming the customer is not a complaints strategy,” Constant said.
ASIC examined data covering 45 trustees over two years. Nearly one quarter failed to regularly analyse complaints to identify systemic issues, breaching an enforceable requirement under the commission’s internal dispute resolution standards.
Nearly one third of the trustees identified no systemic issue during the two-year period. ASIC called that a “red flag”, rather than evidence that those funds had handled complaints well.
Why is ASIC warning super funds?
ASIC says complaints can reveal problems beyond an individual member’s case. They may point to payment errors, delays in service or communication, and even fraud or misconduct.
Constant said the Australian Financial Complaints Authority appeared more likely than funds themselves to identify systemic problems, based on the two years of data ASIC reviewed. AFCA said last month that superannuation complaints had jumped more than 40 per cent in the last financial year.
The regulator also found several trustees attributed complaints to members’ expectations, awareness or mistakes. Constant said funds should instead examine whether unclear processes, poor communication, delays or system failures are driving dissatisfaction.
“More than 60 per cent of the time, the customer, the messenger, is being shot and the customer is being blamed,” she said.
The stakes are immediate for members who cannot access payments, wait too long for a response or do not receive services they are entitled to. Those failures can affect people’s retirement savings and their ability to rely on support from a fund, Constant said.
There is a demographic pressure, too. Constant warned that complaint handling would become a bigger challenge as more people reach retirement, when their relationship with a super fund becomes more important.
What action could trustees face?
ASIC has asked trustees to review its findings and assess whether their internal complaint systems can identify and respond to recurring problems. The commission said it would focus on funds already warned to improve if they had not acted sufficiently and promptly.
Possible responses include supervisory engagement, compliance action, licensing conditions and enforcement action, Constant said.
One case cited by the commission involved a tax-related system problem raised in complaints for years before a trustee investigated whether it affected other members. Early estimates suggested around 1200 members could be impacted.
Constant said complaints should prompt trustees to look for failures that may affect more than the person who first raised the issue. “These are not abstract governance issues,” she said. “They affect people’s lives and the retirement savings they have worked hard to build.”
