Policy & Research

Purpose

The Best Practice Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the ASFA Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Effective Governance and Regulation. The Sub-Committee is a key forum for ASFA to provide support and guidance towards effective superannuation practice particularly in implementing legislation and compliance requirements.

The purpose of the Sub-Committee is to:

1. Suggest topics for Best Practice Papers, Discussion Papers and Best Practice Workshops;
2. Assist in the development of ASFA Best Practice Papers and Discussion Papers by reviewing and providing comment on draft papers or by passing the draft to relevant experts within the Sub-Committee members' respective organisations for comment;
3. Recommend to the ASFA Secretariat and/or the Policy Committee ways to resolve conflicting or contentious issues of content or direction which may arise in the development of ASFA Best Practice Papers and Discussion Papers;
4. Authorise the submission of the final draft of each Best Practice Paper or Discussion Paper to the ASFA Secretariat or the Policy Committee for approval (where required); and
5. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

Purpose

The Electronic Commerce Policy Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Industry Efficiency Gains and its key focus is to develop policy positions that will ensure the industry is operationally more efficient and 'easy to do business with'.

The purpose of the Sub-Committee is to assist ASFA in guiding the superannuation industry towards being 'easy to do business with'. It is through e-commerce that funds will be able to improve data and information flows between its customers (employers, members, regulators and other funds) creating efficiencies and cost savings for all parties. It will do this by:

1. Identifying opportunities for ASFA to promote the adoption of industry e-commerce standards;
2. Assisting ASFA to promote the use of electronic commerce;
3. Identifying opportunities to improve the electronic transfer of information between the industry and its regulators;
4. Promoting the introduction of electronic interfaces between funds and their members;
5. Assisting in the evaluation of proposed e-commerce initiatives that may impact on the superannuation industry;
6. Driving implementation of the Cooper Review's SuperStream initiatives;
7. Measuring and monitoring the take up of electronic commerce initiatives across the industry;
8. Monitoring, reviewing and reporting on issues relevant to electronic commerce referred to it by the Policy Committee;
9. Assisting in the development of ASFA submissions, industry papers and requests-for-comments from regulators;
10. Generally acting as a sounding board for, and providing input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

Purpose

The Fund Operations Policy Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Industry Efficiency Gains and its key focus is to develop policy positions that will ensure the industry is operationally more efficient and 'easy to do business with'.

The purpose of the Fund Operations Sub-Committee is to:

1. Monitor, review and report on fund operations issues referred to it by the Policy Committee;
2. Provide advice to the Policy Committee on amendments to SIS, other legislation and guidelines which impact on the operations of superannuation funds and their key service providers;
3. Identify opportunities for improving efficiency and effectiveness of fund operations;
4. Assist in the development of ASFA submissions, industry papers and requests-for-comments from regulators;
5. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

Purpose

The Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Enhanced Retirement Outcomes and its key focus is to develop policy positions that will ensure the industry is operationally more efficient and 'easy to do business with'.

The purpose of the Insurance Sub-Committee is to:

1. Monitor, review and report on insurance issues referred to it by the Policy Committee, including but not limited to:
   • Administration of insurance;
   • Issues around under insurance;
   • Design of insurance products;
   • Self-insurance;
   • Consistencies in disclosure (particularly around premiums);
   • Potential increased role of annuities; and
   • Implications on fund mergers.
2. Provide advice to the Policy Committee on amendments to legislation and guidelines which impact on the provision of insurance by superannuation funds and operational issues impacting their key service providers;
3. Assist in the evaluation of proposed insurance-related initiatives and the development of ASFA responses to government discussion papers, draft legislation, guidelines and other matters of interest, particularly those inquiries and reviews that impact the provision of insurance; and
4. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

Purpose

The Investment Policy Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the ASFA Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Informed and Engaged Members and its key focus is to develop policy positions that will provide members with guidance on investment matters such that they are better able to achieve improved retirement outcomes.

The purpose of the Investment Sub-Committee is to:

1. Monitor, review and report on investment issues referred to it by the Policy Committee;
2. Identify other matters that impact on investment issues of superannuation funds and provide advice on these to the Policy Committee;
3. Suggest topics for ASFA Best Practice Papers, Discussion Papers, Investment Workshops and ASFA Conferences;
4. Assist in the development of ASFA Best Practice Papers and Discussion Papers by forming working groups to compose, review and provide comment on draft papers or to pass the draft to relevant experts within the Sub-Committee members' respective organisations for comment; and
5. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

Purpose

The Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Effective Governance and Regulation. Its key focus is on developing policy positions that will ensure the industry achieves more 'consistent, effective and efficient regulation' and identifying strategic issues in relation to the regulatory environment and the regulatory approach taken by the regulators.

The Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Sub-Committee's purpose is to address legal and compliance implications of laws and government initiatives for funds. It will:

1. Monitor, review and report on legal and compliance issues referred to it by the Policy Committee;
2. Provide advice to the Policy Committee and the ASFA Secretariat on amendments to SIS, other legislation and guidelines which impact on the operations of superannuation funds and their key service providers;
3. Identify opportunities for improving efficiency and effectiveness of superannuation funds' compliance requirements and operations;
4. Assist in the development of ASFA responses to government discussion papers, draft legislation, guidelines and other matters of interest, particularly those inquiries and reviews that impact the legislative and regulatory environments;
5. Discuss and develop strategic insights with a view to assisting ASFA in advocating progress towards the efficient functioning of government regulation and structure;
6. Provide advice to the Policy Committee on ASFA's approach to proposed policy developments and implementation issues, including the status of relations between the regulators and the industry;
7. Provide input to, and thereby assist, ASFA in progressing discussions with the regulatory bodies on issues concerning their regulatory approach (for example, consistency, risk identification, quality of staff, emerging industry-wide regulatory issues etc); and
8. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

It is important to have members on the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Sub-Committee who are strategic thinkers and who liaise regularly with the regulators, superannuation funds and service providers, since the Sub-Committee is designed to be a conduit between the regulators and the industry. To this end, the Sub-Committee members should, wherever possible, report back to the Sub-Committee the outcome of their external discussions (eg. views of the regulators, other industry stakeholders etc).

Purpose

The Member Engagement and Advice Policy Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the ASFA Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Informed and Engaged Members and its key focus is to develop policies and strategies to empower members to engage with their superannuation through available advice and more meaningful disclosure.

The purpose of the Sub-Committee is to:

1. Monitor, review and report on member engagement, disclosure, advice and financial literacy issues referred to it by the Policy Committee;
2. Provide intelligence and thought leadership to ASFA in relation to member engagement, disclosure, advice and financial literacy issues relevant to superannuation fund members;
3. Identify ways to improve super fund members' confidence and capacity to understand and manage superannuation;
4. Assist in the development of ASFA responses to government discussion papers, draft legislation and other guidelines that impact on disclosure, advice and financial literacy issues relevant to superannuation fund members;
5. Assist in the development of ASFA Best Practice Papers and Discussion Papers by forming working groups to compose, review and provide comment on draft papers or to pass the draft to relevant experts within the Sub-Committee members' respective organisations for comment; and
6. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

Purpose

The Retirement Outcomes Policy Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the ASFA Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Enhanced Retirement Outcomes and its key focus is to develop policy positions and strategies with the aim of enhancing the retirement outcomes of fund members.

The purpose of the Sub-Committee is to:

1. Monitor, review and report on issues that impact the retirement outcomes of Australians;
2. Provide intelligence and thought leadership to the ASFA Policy Committee in relation to legislative improvements and other policy positions that impact the retirement outcomes of Australians;
3. Assist in the development of ASFA responses to government discussion papers, draft legislation, guidelines and other matters of interest such as inquiries and reviews that impact the retirement outcomes of Australians;
4. Assist in the development of ASFA Best Practice Papers and Discussion Papers by forming working groups to compose, review and provide comment on draft papers or to pass the draft to relevant experts within the Sub-Committee members' respective organisations for comment; and
5. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

Purpose

The SMSF Policy Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the ASFA Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Enhanced Retirement Outcomes. The Sub-Committee is a key forum for ASFA to provide support and guidance towards effective superannuation practice particularly in implementing legislation and compliance requirements for SMSFs.

The purpose of the Sub-Committee is to:

1. Monitor/review the governance arrangements/requirements relevant to SMSFs and to identify opportunities to address any issues;
2. Assist ASFA develop policy positions on specific SMSF matters and make appropriate recommendations to ASFA's Policy Committee;
3. Provide intelligence and thought leadership to ASFA in relation to SMSFs generally and guidance on appropriate engagement with the SMSF sector by ASFA.
4. Assist in the development of ASFA responses to government discussion papers and on inquiries into SMSF matters;
5. Assist in the development of ASFA responses to draft legislation relevant to SMSFs; and
6. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.

Purpose

The Sub-Committee is established by and reports to the Policy Committee. It is aligned with, and supports, the ASFA Policy Vision of Effective Governance and Regulation.

The purpose of the Tax Policy Sub-Committee is to:

1. Monitor/review the taxation arrangements that impact funds and their members to identify opportunities to address issues;
2. Assist in the development of ASFA responses to government discussion papers on and inquiries into taxation matters;
3. Assist in the development of ASFA responses to draft legislation;
4. Assist in the development of ASFA Best Practice Papers and Discussion Papers by forming working groups to compose, review and provide comment on draft papers or to pass the draft to relevant experts within the Sub-Committee members' respective organisations for comment; and
5. Generally act as a sounding board for, and provide input to, the ASFA Secretariat on matters relevant to the Sub-Committee as and when they arise.