Media Release

Equity, sustainability and adequacy are key to super: ASFA

24 August 2016

Equity, sustainability and adequacy are key to super: ASFA

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) acknowledges the Federal Opposition’s announcement today of its position on the taxation of superannuation and the May 2016 superannuation proposals.  ASFA will take time to assess and fully understand the impacts of the proposed measures on fund members and the system.

“It is vital that any package is considered in terms of the long-term sustainability of the system, adequacy of retirement incomes for all Australians and the equity of tax concessions provided,” said Jim Minto, interim CEO, ASFA.

“Equally, we must not lose sight of the fact that members must be easily able to understand the nature of the changes and the changes must be administratively viable, so as not to impose greater costs on fund members.

ASFA has long called for measures which address adequacy, with a particular focus on those who need to be able to “catch up”.

“There are many people who fall behind in accumulating the super balances necessary to provide a comfortable income in retirement, including women who spend time out of the workforce raising children or those caring for elderly parents as well as many other reasons for broken work patterns.

“It is important that we give everyone the chance to build an adequate nest egg with which to retire. The proposed reduction in concessional contribution caps by the Government and the Opposition would mean that some people would not be given a reasonable chance of doing that.

“However, it is good to see that both the Government and Opposition see providing support for low income earners to make contributions to superannuation as a key part of the system.”

ASFA advocates policy settings which will mean that an increasing number of retirees will reach the ASFA comfortable standard, with a goal of 50 per cent of retirees reaching or exceeding that level by 2050.

“It’s critical that we get these decisions right and think about the long term future for Australia’s retirees over the decades to come rather than just focusing on the short term,” concluded Mr Minto.

For further information, please contact:

Katrina Horrobin, 0451 949 300.

About ASFA

ASFA is the peak policy, research and advocacy body for Australia’s superannuation industry. It is a not-for-profit, sector-neutral, and non-party political national organisation, which aims to advance effective retirement outcomes for members of funds through research, advocacy and the development of policy and industry best practice.

Daniel Mulino MP

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services

Sessions

Keynote 8 – Navigating the energy transition: opportunities, investor strategies and policy needs

Born in Brindisi, Italy, Daniel was a young child when he moved with his family to Australia. He grew up in Canberra and completed his first degrees – arts and law – at the ANU. He then completed a Master of Economics (University of Sydney) and a PhD in economics from Yale.

He lectured at Monash University, was an economic adviser in the Gillard government and was a Victorian MP from 2014 to 2018. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer of Victoria, Daniel helped deliver major infrastructure projects and developed innovative financing structures for community projects.

In 2018 he was preselected for the new federal seat of Fraser and became its first MP at the 2019 election, re-elected in 2022 and 2025. From 2022 to 2025, Daniel was chair of the House of Representatives’ Standing Economics Committee in which he chaired inquiries; economic dynamism, competition and business formation and insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims.

In 2025, he became the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.

In August 2022, Daniel published ‘Safety Net: The Future of Welfare in Australia’, which aims to explore the ways in which an insurance approach can improve the effectiveness of government service delivery.