Superannuation Complaints Tribunal Proceedings:

Sometimes a dispute or disagreement may arise on how your superannuation is being managed, administrated or released. One avenue for redress is the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) which is an independent dispute resolution body which deals with a varied range of superannuation-related complaints and offers a free, informal alternative to the court system.  Legal advice from a Superannuation and Taxation Solicitor in this regard may be invaluable if you are unsure of your rights, liabilities and options for resolution of a superannuation dispute.

The Tribunal deals with complaints relating to decisions and conduct of trustees, insurers, and other decision-makers in relation to regulated superannuation funds, approved deposit funds, annuities, life policy funds and retirement savings accounts. The Tribunal does not, however, have an unlimited jurisdiction to deal with all superannuation-related matters. The types of matters that the SCT can deal with include errors in annual statements, incorrect release or payment of death payment, delay in payment, miscalculation in benefit, refusal to pay a benefit, misrepresentation about terms, inaccuracies in the information. The SCT cannot deal with complaints relating to the management of a fund as a whole, an employer, financial advisor or matters subject to litigation.  Thorough legal advice from a Superannuation and Taxation Lawyer in this regard can inform you of whether or not your matter can be dealt with in the SCT and the benefits and costs of doing so.

There is a detailed procedure and manner in which complaints made the tribunal are dealt with. Firstly, tribunal must inquire into a complaint made to it and attempt to resolve it initially by conciliation. The conciliation process, the Tribunal may rely solely on documents and other information which has been provided to it or it may also hear oral submissions at a conciliation conference. The Tribunal must treat a complaint as withdrawn if it is settled through conciliation. If, in connection with a complaint, the Tribunal becomes aware of a contravention of any law or of the governing rules of a fund, or of a breach in the terms and conditions of an annuity or life policy or an RSA, the Tribunal must give details of the contravention to ASIC and/or APRA, as appropriate.

The Tribunal, after considering documents provided to it, may require the parties to a complaint to attend a conciliation conference. The notice to attend must be made in writing and given to each party, specifying the date, time and place for the conference. The Tribunal may also require any other person to attend the conference if it considers that person’s information or presence would be conducive to settling the complaint. If the complainant fails to attend the conference, the Tribunal may deal with the complaint as if it had been withdrawn. Statements made at a conciliation conference are privileged. Where the conciliation process fails to resolve a complaint, the Tribunal must proceed to review the decision or conduct to which the complaint relates. This process can be complex, lengthy and a thorough understanding of superannuation law from discussions with a Superannuation and Taxation Lawyer may be prudent and advantageous to ensure that you achieve a speedy, favourable result.

If the conciliation process ends unsuccessfully, the Tribunal must arrange to hold a  review meeting for the purpose of reviewing the decision or conduct complained of. Before the review meeting, the Tribunal must write to the parties advising them of the date, time and place of the meeting and inviting them to provide written submissions by the appointed date. In reviewing a decision or conduct, the Tribunal is not bound by technicalities, legal forms or rules of evidence. It must act as speedily as a proper consideration of the matter allows, having regard to its objectives of providing a fair, economical, informal and quick mechanism for the resolution of complaints and the interests of all the members of the fund to which the complaint relates. The tribunal may inform itself of any matter relevant to the review in any way it thinks appropriate. A panel consisting of one or three Tribunal members is allocated to sit at a review meeting depending on the nature of the complaint. The Tribunal Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson is often one of the members of the review meeting panel. The Tribunal also has 24 part-time members drawn from a variety of professions from around Australia, including: superannuation, insurance, actuary, law, medicine, rehabilitation and sociology.  Obtaining proper legal advice from a qualified and experienced Tax and Superannuation Lawyer can assist in ensuring that you have the proper support and guidance through the review process.

If you would like further information or wish to discuss your Superannuation matter with us please do not hesitate to contact us by telephone on (02) 9233 4048 or by email to info@navado.com.au.

This webpage (and any material or wording appearing on this webpage) is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute any Legal Advice. It does not take into account your objectives, your instructions or all of the relevant facts and/or circumstances. Navado accepts no responsibility to any person who relies on the information provided on this website. We further refer you to our Disclaimer.