Margaret Cole’s announced departure as deputy chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has triggered a covert campaign by industry super funds to influence the appointment of the powerful watchdog.

According to a senior public servant with classified knowledge of the matter, who spoke to Investment Magazine on condition of anonymity, representatives of the Super Members Council including AustralianSuper chief executive Paul Schroder have privately voiced preferred suggestions to Treasurer Jim Chalmers or other key Albanese government officials with influence over the appointment. Multiple superannuation industry sources have also attested to having knowledge of a co-ordinated effort to influence the identity of the next APRA deputy chair, which ordinarily has oversight of the $4 trillion super sector.

When approached for comment, an AustralianSuper spokesperson initially declined, citing a policy not to publicly discuss the mega-fund’s “engagement with government”. Following the publication of a previous version of this article, the fund issued an additional statement vehemently denying the allegation.

“Paul Schroder did not meet with the Treasurer or his office about the APRA role and he has not lobbied the government about it,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the Super Members Council – which represents profit-to-member funds and was born out of the merger of Industry Super Australia and the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and members of which are alleged to have also been involved in promoting preferred candidates – concurred.

“We’re not aware of any conversations by anyone with the Treasurer about the next deputy chair of APRA,” they said.

But the government source, who claimed only to be acting in the public interest, was adamant that a campaign of covert influence was underway. 

Indeed, the source suggested the questions put to multiple funds and government agencies about the alleged campaign may also be responsible for a delay in the announcement of the next deputy chair. Cole is due to vacate the chair at the end of the financial year.

It is understood interviews for the role were held at the end of last year, in tandem with Treasury’s process for appointing a replacement for Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair Joe Longo.

However, while Chalmers has announced that ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court – who has led the regulator’s enforcement activities including the Shield and First Guardian investigations – will replace Longo, the government has maintained silence over the APRA appointment.

APRA and Treasury declined to comment.

Consumer critic

The allegations come as a number of large industry funds are embroiled in a number of live and recently completed legal and enforcement disputes with the financial regulatory agencies.

Last year, the Federal Court ordered AustralianSuper to pay a $27 million penalty for failing to merge member accounts in contravention of the Superannuation Industry Supervision (SIS) Act. The court proceedings were jointly brought by APRA and securities regulator ASIC.

“We found this mistake, we reported it, we apologised to impacted members, we compensated them, and we’ve improved our processes to prevent this happening again,” Schroder said at that time. “Multiple member accounts are a problem across our industry and for several years our process wasn’t comprehensive enough to meet our obligations to members.”

ASIC has filed a separate Federal Court action against AustralianSuper for allegedly failing to process nearly 7,000 death benefit claims efficiently, honestly and fairly. These proceedings were lodged in 2025 and are ongoing. 

Matters have also been brought against fellow SMC member funds HESTA and Cbus.

There is no suggestion that a superannuation fund campaigning for a certain regulatory appointment or outcome is illegal or contravenes any trustee obligations.

But consumer advocates say that does not mean it is ethical or appropriate conduct to do so.

Xavier O’Halloran, director of the CHOICE-affiliated Super Consumers Australia, said it is “not unheard of” for business and investment leaders to lobby government on regulatory appointments – “but it should be”.

“A regulated entity lobbying for a particular candidate to be appointed is wildly inappropriate,” O’Halloran tells Investment Magazine. “Even more so given AustralianSuper is subject to ongoing regulatory action for its catastrophic customer service failures. Australians need regulators they can trust to protect them. These types of actions undermine that trust.”

O’Halloran’s assessment of the matter as “catastrophic” is his personal take as a consumer advocate and does not reflect court findings in the ongoing court proceedings.

Cole contenders  

Cole – a former general counsel at PwC in London and UK Financial Services Authority official – will vacate the role in June. 

Names touted as being in contention to replace her include former HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey and Robbie Campo, chief executive of ESSSuper.

Campo, who is also chair of the influential Women in Super network, has longstanding ties to the industry super movement including as a group executive at Cbus and deputy chief of Industry Super Australia, while Blakey serves as president of the industry super movement’s powerful sharemarket proxy adviser, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI).

Candidates understood to be in the mix for the role but which are seen as neutral prospects not put forward by the industry super funds include Janet Torney, chair of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) and David Bell, executive director of The Conexus Institute, a not-for-profit think tank funded by this publication’s owner, Conexus Financial.

ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant, whom it is understood did not apply for the chair role to be taken up by Court, told the Investment Magazine Chair Forum on 4 February that she and her colleagues were delighted about Court’s promotion and that Australian consumers could expect “frank and fearless” regulation under her tenure.

Constant also praised Cole’s contribution to public life, describing the “Margaret Cole era” at APRA as one in which super funds were held to account on important issues such as lack of progress on retirement income and poor transparency over valuation of unlisted assets.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article published on 8 February has been amended to include additional information, including statements from AustralianSuper and the SMC.