Issue 533, 5 May 2014
In this issue:
Portfolio holdings disclosure and choice dashboard deferred until 1 July 2015
Portfolio holdings disclosure and choice dashboard deferred until 1 July 2015
The Acting Assistant Treasurer, Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann, has announced a deferral of the start date for the choice product dashboard and the portfolio holdings disclosure regime, key parts of the Stronger Super reforms.
The choice dashboard requirements were originally intended to apply from 1 July 2014, while portfolio holdings disclosure was to have applied to 30 June 2014 and subsequent six monthly reporting days. Both disclosure measures will now commence from 1 July 2015.
The choice product dashboard is intended to enable greater comparability of superannuation products, while the introduction of a portfolio holdings disclosure regime will require reporting of specific superannuation fund investments.
The appropriate content and format of both disclosure measures was canvassed extensively in the government’s recent discussion paper, Better regulation and governance, enhanced transparency and improved competition in superannuation. Senator Cormann has indicated that responses to that discussion paper have made it “very clear that large parts of the industry are not ready for implementation and that many issues remain unresolved”.
Senator Cormann has indicated that the government “remains fully committed to these reforms as part of our efforts to improve the efficiency, transparency and competitiveness of our superannuation system”, but recognises that the proceeding with the original timetable “would force too many industry participants into a state of non-compliance with legal requirements”. He noted that deferring the start date for implementation will allow sufficient time for consultation on draft legislation and provide the industry additional time to implement the changes.
The media release from the acting Assistant Treasurer is available on the Treasury website. ASFA’s media release in response to the deferral is available here.
