Nearly 7,000 claims were allegedly delayed
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is suing AustralianSuper over the alleged delayed processing of nearly 7,000 death benefit claims, according to proceedings filed in the Federal Court.
ASIC alleged that the trustee of Australia’s largest superannuation fund failed to process claims ‘efficiently, honestly and fairly’ – as it took between four months and four years from the death of the claim form being returned to assess at least 6,897 death benefit claims, according to a media release.
As reported by The Australian and Business News Australia, the regulator is also accusing the firm of failing to pay member’s benefits as soon as practicable after the member’s death in respect of at least 752 members – claiming that in one case, payment was not made for 1,1140 days, despite having all information required for the payment to be made.
ASIC allegations – in a filing made on 11 March 2025 - also claim that in over 250 cases, AustralianSuper took between 15 and 213 days to provide the claim form.
ASIC Deputy Chair, Sarah Court said, “At its heart, this matter is about protecting vulnerable Australians and their families.”
“It is vital that death benefit claims are processed in a timely manner. Delays are likely to cause further pain and anxiety to people who are already suffering from grief, making what is already a difficult time even harder,” she added.
ASIC alleges AustralianSuper contravened the following provisions:
In a statement, AustralianSuper says they are “considering ASIC’s claim carefully and will respond on the substance of the claim in due course.”
“We recognised this and developed a strategy with our service provider to clear the backlog of claims. Despite some improvement, we were not satisfied the backlog was reducing fast enough so we made the significant decision to bring the processing of death claims in house. Bringing this function in house strengthens our ability to deliver this important service efficiently and empathetically,” the statement added.
The firm say they are fundamentally transforming how member services are delivered and are part way through a $120 million investment in service improvements.
“Since our in-house Bereavement Centre was launched in April 2024 with 75 dedicated case managers handling death claims from start to finish, we have seen a significant reduction in claim processing times,” the statement reads.
