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Australia’s two major professional accounting bodies have thrown their support towards a ban on occupational exclusions in default insurance offered through MySuper products.
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CPA Australia, CA ANZ support ban on occupational exclusions
19 October 2021
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Together, CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ) issued a joint submission to Treasury on Thursday (14 October) in response to consultation on the “Review of occupational exclusions in default insurance offered through MySuper products”.
In their submission, the bodies supported a ban on occupational exclusions.
“We are concerned about the arbitrary nature of proposed occupational exclusions. Our preferred solution is to ban occupational exclusions,” the submission said, signed by Richard Webb, policy advisor financial planning and superannuation at CPA Australia and Tony Negline, superannuation leader at Chartered Accountants ANZ.
“The presence of occupational exclusions in default insurance offered as part of the MySuper safety net has the potential to exclude Australians from what we believe may be minimum community expectations of basic insurance coverage.”
Mr Webb and Mr Negline acknowledged that this, combined with recent policy initiatives surrounding such products, may be creating unintended consequences.
“MySuper products were initially envisaged to be a safety net for Australians who are unwilling or unable to choose their own superannuation arrangements. Overall, we believe they have been a good policy initiative, and we are strong advocates for the provision of quality default insurance offerings within MySuper products,” the pair said.
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“More recent policy initiatives, such as the reduction in the incidence of multiple member accounts and the streamlining of superannuation arrangements when Australians commence a new job, are laudable measures when considered on their own. However, when implemented collectively, they have created unintended consequences, especially for Australians in high-risk occupations.”
Elsewhere in the submission, Mr Webb and Mr Negline recommended the review also consider the issue of policy terms and conditions being changed, whereby trustees may negotiate with insurers, either as the result of a change in insurer or a change in policy terms. This, they said, can often catch members out.
Elsewhere in CPA Australia and CA ANZ-related news, earlier this month saw the professional accounting bodies commit towards a net-zero target alongside 11 others across the globe. Collectively, the 13 bodies represent 2.5 million accountants globally.
As part of this commitment, CPA Australia and CA ANZ will reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions within their organisations “as soon as operationally possible”. Both will need to publish a net-zero emissions pathway within the next 12 months and report on their progress annually.
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