Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Future, Your Super) 2021

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Future, Your Super) 2021

## What it does
This law makes three major changes to how superannuation works in Australia. It forces workers to have only one default super account (instead of accumulating multiple accounts), creates a system to identify and penalise super funds that underperform, and introduces a "best financial interests duty" requiring super fund trustees to act in members' best interests.

## Why it matters
Many Australians unknowingly have multiple super accounts with different employers, losing money to duplicate fees. This bill stops that happening and cracks down on poorly performing funds, meaning more of your super stays in your pocket and funds have to prove they're worth your money.

## Key details
- **Single default account**: From the day after the law passed, new workers go into one default fund rather than opening a new account with each job—saving thousands in fees over a lifetime
- **Underperformance penalties**: Super funds that underperform by more than 0.5% annually compared to their benchmark face losing members automatically
- **Trustee accountability**: Fund trustees must now legally prioritise members' financial interests, not just follow the rules—this takes effect from 1 July 2021

Official Description

Amends the: Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to: provide that if a new employee has an existing 'stapled' superannuation fund and does not choose a fund to receive contributions, their employer is required to make contributions on behalf of the employee into the stapled fund; and ensure that employers are not in breach of various rules, or are not liable for superannuation guarantee charge, in certain circumstances; Superannuation Act 1990 and Superannuation Act 2005 to make consequential amendments; Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to: require the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to conduct an annual performance test for MySuper products and other products to be specified in regulations; make amendments contingent on the commencement of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Act 2021 , when enacted, and Family Law Amendment (Western Australia De Facto Superannuation Splitting and Bankruptcy) Act 2020 , when enacted; require trustees of registrable superannuation entities and self managed superannuation funds and directors of the corporate trustee of a registrable superannuation entity to perform their duties and exercise their powers in the best financial interests of the beneficiaries; reverse the evidential burden of proof for the best financial interests duty so that the onus is on the trustee of a registrable superannuation entity; allow regulations to be made to prohibit certain payments made by trustees of registrable superannuation entities and prescribe additional requirements on trustees and directors of trustee companies of registrable superannuation entities; and allow contraventions of record-keeping obligations specified in regulations to be subject to a strict liability offence; and Corporations Act 2001 to remove an exemption from disclosing information about certain investments under the portfolio holdings disclosure rules.

Committee Referrals

Senate Economics Legislation Committee; Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

17 Feb 2021

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

22 June 2021

Last checked by Crossbench

2 days ago

Full text indexed

2 days ago

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

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