The Superannuation Complaints Tribunal was an Australian independent statutory body established by the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
to deal with complaints about
superannuation and certain
life insurance annuities. It was superseded in 2018 by the
Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
History
The Superannuation Complaints Tribunal was established under the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act in 1993. It was established at the same time as a new prudential and disclosure framework was put in place under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, protecting employees compulsory superannuation contributions (introduced in 1992).
From 1 July 2018, the
Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) replaced the
Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000, and given statutory powers in 2001 by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based busi ...
(FOS), the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) and the
Credit and Investments Ombudsman.
Operation
Prior to being dissolved, in order for the Tribunal to deal with a complaint, a member (former member or potential beneficiary) of a superannuation fund had to first make a formal complaint to the Trustee of that fund (under the fund's own internal complaints procedures). If the complaint is not resolved to the member's satisfaction (or has not been dealt with within a 90-day period) then a complaint can be made to the Tribunal.
The Tribunal would only deal with complaints as they relate to a trustee decision affecting an individual member. The Tribunal could not deal with complaints about the fund as a whole (e.g. poor investment performance).
The Tribunal would first try and resolve the complaint through conciliation (where the SCT will facilitate a discussion with all parties involved). If conciliation was not successful, the Tribunal will make a "review" decision that was binding on all parties.
See also
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Superannuation in Australia
Superannuation in Australia, or "super", is a savings system for workplace pensions in retirement. It involves money earned by an employee being placed into an investment fund to be made legally available to members upon retirement. Employers ma ...
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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. APRA was established on 1 July 1998 in response to the recom ...
*
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...
*
Ombudsmen in Australia
Ombudsmen in Australia are independent agencies who assist when a dispute arises between individuals and industry bodies or government agencies. Government ombudsman services are free to the public, like many other ombudsman and dispute resolutio ...
References
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Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia
Ombudsmen in Australia
Dispute resolution
Superannuation in Australia
Financial regulatory authorities of Australia
1993 establishments in Australia
2018 disestablishments in Australia
Courts and tribunals established in 1993
Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2018