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to members’ superannuation and the better retirement
prospects for the millions of members of Australia’s
not-for-profit industry, government and corporate funds.
Were we successful On a scale of 1 to 10, I would
estimate that an 8 was a reasonable assessment.
There is now a genuine prospect that our long-held
concerns about superannuation adequacy will be
addressed by the decision to lift the super guarantee
charge to 12 per cent over the next nine years. Lower
paid workers will enjoy the benefits of a promised rebate
of up to $500 in their super accounts to compensate
for the fact the tax regime has previously discriminated
against them unfairly. The government intends to ban
the nefarious practice of trailing commissions charged
against unwitting super fund members. A new regime
of more sensible and affordable financial advice is in
the wings. The role and effectiveness of trustees in the
not-for-profit sector (which accounts for approximately
a third of the $1.3 trillion held in Australian superannuation
accounts) has been recognised by the government.
This is despite attempts by the Cooper inquiry’s final
report to undermine this highly successful model of fund
governance – with trustees drawn from employer and
employee representative groups - which has been one
of the most significant factors in putting Australia in the
global top ranks of retirement planning and management.
In all these areas, and a host of others, AIST has been
active in lobbying, persuading, cajoling and arguing
our case.
Throughout our annus mirabili of course, the fine work
by AIST’s other divisions has continued: in the extensive
training and professional development of fund trustees
and staff, in conference organising, including major
conferences such as the Conference of Major Superannuation
Funds (CMSF), the annual Australian Super
Investment Conference, as well as Global Dialogue which
was held in Hong Kong and China in 2010.
Cooper Review panel and offered wisdom, commonsense
and no-nonsense solutions to the theorisers. Andrew
Barr, AIST’s policy manager, decided to change career
course during the year. Former President Ian Robertson
continued to lobby on behalf of climate change awareness
in the face of dwindling political will to create appropriate
policy. To these and other Board, Policy and Finance
Committee members who are taking breaks from the
front lines, I extend thanks.
Finally, AIST has initiated a new status of ‘Fellow of
AIST’, to recognise the effort that many trustees put
in to develop and maintain their professional status.
Throughout all the inquiries and jawboning in which AIST
has engaged over the past year, one thing was always
apparent in discussions. We will be best able to retain
our not-for-profit status and our unique governance
structures if we are prepared to ally our practical, intelligent
and engaged approach with a determination to
continuously lift our skills and knowledge across the
vast area of superannuation. Each of us does not need
to be an expert in all areas of trust law, superannuation
legislation, asset management, investment products,
currency management, insurance conditions, conflicts of
interest, compliance, money laundering laws, governance
or business continuity legislation. But collectively we
need the wisdom and the skills to know what questions
to ask, how to smell the bulldust and when and how to
let management get on with its tasks.
I’d urge trustees to embrace the new order and realise
that we will all need to commit to continuous professional
development. It will no longer be good enough, in
a competitive world that is often envious of the positions
we hold, for us to rest on our laurels.
There are more than 30 staffers at AIST who work hard
on behalf of the organisation. My thanks to them all for
their efforts.
Special thanks should go to staffers and supporters who
have dug deeply over the years in the cause of not-forprofit
superannuation. Mavis Robertson, the doyenne of
superannuation, is contemplating her own retirement from
day-to-day engagement in super issues. Sandy Grant,
who stood down as chair of AIST’s policy committee,
took on the perhaps unenviable role as a member of the
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