Ian Silk, chief executive officer at the fund, says the project is looking at the “whole spectrum of advice and how we can improve the quality of what we do, from one end of the spectrum being purely factual information right through to face-to-face financial planning at the other”. “There are obviously different channels of advice in between those two end points, so we’re looking at the whole gamut of channels that provide advice,” he says. Australian Super already has an AFSL to provide personal advice, but does not currently use it. HESTA, on the other hand, has offered free personal advice to members for three years, and runs an education and advice program in cooperation with the fund’s employers. Member education managers provide education sessions or general advice at employer workplaces, and members that want individual advice about their super are referred to HESTA’s superannuation service advisers (SSAs) for limited personal advice. “This latest change for us is just an affirmation that we can do what we’re doing, but because now we don’t have to give as detailed statements of advice, we’ve got a much shorter SOA that we provide which means that we’ll be able to see more members,” says HESTA chief executive officer Anne-Marie Corboy.

Members with broader financial planning needs or who require advice outside the scope of the limited advice areas are referred to Industry Funds Financial Planning. Although HESTA outsources it contact centre, Corboy says this is not an obstacle, because the call centre does not give personal advice. “The referrals are to HESTA employed staff to provide this advice so the model works for us,” she says. Funds regulated by APRA are able to comply with the ‘suitability rule’ in S945A, meaning their personal advice must be suitable for the member, or make use of the conditional class order relief. However as an unregulated fund without its own AFSL, ESSSSuper, the emergency services and Victorian government employees’ superannuation fund is restricted in how it can respond to the new rules. “For funds that are regulated and do have a licence, it means they don’t have to go down the ‘know your client’ rules so they’re able to more freely adapt to those changes,” says Michelle Boucher, general manager, member relationships at the fund. “Part of the class order is you can’t delegate that authority to a third party (like Industry Funds Financial Planning) so they will still have to abide by the old rules for us to do the same things others are doing under the relaxed rules.”