Welcome to the weekly KHQ Super Alert. This will be our last Super Alert for the year. We have enjoyed bringing you the latest regulatory news every week and we look forward to continuing the newsletter in 2026! We’ll be back with more Super Alerts after Australia Day.

In a welcome development, a legislative instrument has just been registered to exempt SFTs and changes of trustee from the ACCC’s merger reforms. In other news, ASIC updated its conflicts guidance and Treasury released a consultation which could result in changes to professional indemnity insurance arrangements for financial service licensees. The Federal Court of Australia also published a TPD decision relating to the application of section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act.

Legislation – Exemption for SFTs and changes of trustee from ACCC merger reforms

On 18 December 2025, the Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Determination 2025 (Cth) was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. The purpose of the determination is to amend the Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Determination 2025 (Cth) to further set out ‘the operation of elements of the notification requirements’ under the ACCC’s merger reforms coming into effect on 1 January 2026.

In relation to superannuation specifically, the Explanatory Statement states that certain types of acquisitions involving superannuation entities will be exempt from the merger reforms. The determination exempts two types of acquisitions, being ones that:

  • ‘arise from the transfer of the benefits of one or more members of a superannuation entity from one superannuation entity to another superannuation entity’ which ‘will cover an acquisition of shares or assets by a successor trustee that occurs because of…a successor fund transfer…as permitted by regulation 6.29(1)(c)’ of the SIS Regulations…[or] a roll over with members’ consent as permitted by regulation 6.28(1)(a) and (b) of the SIS Regulations’; or
  • ‘are the result of a new trustee being appointed to a superannuation entity as part of a change of trustee for that superannuation entity’ which ‘will cover acquisitions that occur where there is a change of trustee pursuant to a Deed of Resignation and Appointment’.

Click here for details.

ASIC – Conflicts of interest guidance renewed

On 16 December 2025, ASIC issued an updated version of Regulatory Guide 181 AFS Licensing: Managing Conflicts of Interest which is its regulatory guidance for managing conflicts of interest for Australian financial services licensees. The changes are intended to align with ASIC’s guidance following ‘developments in law and policy and draw on ASIC’s regulatory experience and insights from its surveillance of private markets’.

According to ASIC, the key updates include:

  • ‘how the law applies to conflicts of interest, including the scope of the conflicts management obligation and links to other related obligations’;
  • ‘the types of conflicts AFS licensees should identify and manage’;
  • ‘the need for robust, tailored arrangements to manage conflicts’;
  • ‘practical steps for effective conflict management’; and
  • ‘a non-exhaustive ‘catalogue’ of related legal obligations and information’.

Click here for details.

APRA – Annual Superannuation Bulletin released for the 2024-25 financial year

On 16 December 2025, APRA published its Annual Superannuation Bulletin for the year ended 30 June 2025. The Bulletin set out a range of key statistics for the superannuation industry including:

  • Total superannuation assets: $4.3 trillion;
  • Total APRA-regulated assets: $3 trillion; and
  • Exempt public sector superannuation schemes assets: $178 billion.

Click here for details.

ATO – Cross agency process for retirement income stream products

On 15 December 2025, the ATO published updated guidance for providers of retirement income stream products setting out an ‘innovative’ cross agency process for engaging with government entities. According to the publication, the cross-agency process is intended to:

  • ‘facilitate engagement by providing a single-entry point to the relevant government agencies’;
  • ‘allow product providers to:
    • test concepts
    • seek information and high-level guidance on topics or issues
    • provide their view on how the product meets the requirements of the relevant legislation’; and
  • ‘complement existing processes within the individual agencies’.

The guidance also sets out the roles and responsibilities of each government entity taking part in the process, which includes the ATO, APRA, ASIC, DSS and Services Australia.

Click here for details.

AUSTRAC – Latest newsletter released

On 15 December 2025, AUSTRAC released the latest edition of its online newsletter, InBrief. The main articles relevant to trustees include:

  • ‘Your voice: shaping the future of reporting with AUSTRAC’; and
  • ‘How resistant is your business to insider threats?’.

Click here for details.

ASIC – Dashboard of regulatory costs released

On 12 December 2025, ASIC published its ‘annual dashboard outlining regulatory costs by sector and subsector for 2024-25 under the ASIC industry funding model’, a requirement under section 138 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.

Concurrently, ASIC also published ‘the variances between its estimated and actual costs for subsectors’. The summaries follow the publication of ASIC’s 2024-25 Cost Recovery Implementation Statement on 3 July 2025 (see our Super Alert of 4 July 2025) and its 2024-25 industry funding levies which were published on 5 November 2025 (see our Super Alert of 7 November 2025)

ASIC noted that it ‘determines where it directs its regulatory efforts and resources based on the priorities outlined in our Corporate Plan and our ongoing assessment of risks across the industries we regulate. As a result, levies can be difficult to predict and can vary over time’.

Click here for details.

Federal Court – Court reaffirms TPD cover start date

On 12 December 2025, the Federal Court handed down its judgment in Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd ATF Australian Retirement Trust v Buckland [2025] FCA 1563. The proceeding was an appeal by the trustee and insurer against an AFCA decision with respect to the start date for a total and permanent disablement (TPD) claim.

Ms Buckland ceased work on 17 September 2021 due to an illness and was approved, initially for an income protection benefit, from 18 October 2021. The insurer later determined to pay her TPD benefits from 22 August 2022, the date on which a medical certificate was obtained. AFCA accepted that under the policy, the TPD claim’s ‘Date of Disablement’ was fixed to the date of the first medical certificate confirming a member is permanently unable to return to work.

Although AFCA recognised the date of disablement as 22 August 2022, it nevertheless applied s 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) to backdate the date to 21 September 2021 on the basis that ‘the relevant “omission” [for the purpose of s 54] was that, in the prior year, a doctor had not certified that Ms Buckland was unable to ever return to work’.

The Court found that AFCA’s determination was incorrect and set it aside, reaffirming that where the start date of a TPD claim is linked to a specific medical certification, the date cannot be altered by hindsight or later medical opinions using s 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth).

Click here for details.

Legislation – Special CSLR levies registered for 2025-26 period

On 12 December 2025, the Corporations (Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort—Special Levy) Determination 2025 (Cth) was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. The determination imposes special levy rates for the 2025-26 period relating to the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort for several sub-sectors, including superannuation trustees. A levy of $6.1 million has been determined for superannuation trustees.

Click here for details.

Treasury – Consultation on enhancing professional indemnity insurance

On 12 December 2025, Treasury released a consultation paper on potential ‘opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of professional indemnity insurance in responding to compensation claims’. Specifically, the consultation asks for feedback on current regulatory settings and for suggestions from industry on changes that could be made to current arrangements.

The rationale behind the consultation is to introduce ‘[a] more robust “first line of defence” [for financial services entities] to fund consumer compensation [which] could support the broader sustainability and purpose’ of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort.

The consultation period closes on 13 February 2026.

Click here for details.