It's a requirement of the Superannuation (State Public Sector) Act 1990 that, at least every three years, an actuary investigates and reports on the QSuper defined benefit arrangements. Our Actuarial Report has information on the funding of QSuper Defined Benefit accounts.

We invest thoughtfully in partnership and marketing programs that benefit our members and help us attract new ones. Advertising is one of the cost-effective ways that we share information about our products and services to many people at the same time. This helps current and future members hear about what we stand for and how we can work to provide the best possible outcome for their retirement.

The sustainability and continued growth of the fund is in the best interests of our members, because with more members we can continue to invest on a global scale.

Our Annual reports provide information on the governance and operation of the Fund, as well as financial statements, including Key Management Personnel1 remuneration.

1. Key Management Personnel includes only those employees who have been appointed, with full decision making capacity, to roles which have responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of Australian Retirement Trust.

Find out more about Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd (the Board) and Trustee meeting attendance.

The Board is committed to the evaluation of all claims and underwritten cases thoroughly, fairly and objectively.The payment of all valid claims promptly and correctly and transparency of decision- making and communication of actions is very important to us.

Our philosophy is that, unless there is awareness of something to the contrary, all information provided by the member is assumed to be genuine.  A common sense approach to decision making is encouraged, and minimising any delays in the process.

A conflict of duty or interest is a circumstance which may unduly or inappropriately influence the ability of the Board (or one of the Board's Responsible Persons) to function with the degree of probity and independence their role requires, or with regard to their duty of care to superannuation fund members and their beneficiaries.

Find out more about our conflicts of interest & duty.

The Financial Services Guide (pdf) provides information about services provided by QInvest and the Board (Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd). It also provides information about third party relationships and what to do if you have a complaint.

The Fund (Australian Retirement Trust) commenced following the merger of QSuper and Sunsuper on 28 February 2022. The Fund has 2 parts: public offer division and government division. The government division branded as QSuper is only open to Queensland Government employees, current members, and other people who can use QSuper products, and people who applied to join QSuper before 28 February 2022. The Fund consists of Defined Benefit, Accumulation, Income, and Lifetime Pension products.

The QSuper Defined Benefit account was closed to new members from 12 November 2008.

Accumulation member

The QSuper Accumulation account is designed for Queensland Government employees, current members, and other people who can use QSuper products. With an Accumulation account, members can take an active role in how their superannuation is invested by choosing from ten different investment options ranging from higher risk/higher return to lower risk/lower return. If members don't choose how they want their money invested, we place them into our default option, QSuper Lifetime. QSuper members who don't work for the Queensland Government have the option for their employer to make their superannuation contributions into their Accumulation account on their behalf.

For these members, Australian Retirement Trust complies with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (SIS) and APRA Prudential Standards in a manner consistent with other public offer superannuation funds.  In particular the SIS requirements relating to portability (including Trans-Tasman) and temporary residents permanently departing Australia.

Income account (including Transition to Retirement) and Lifetime Pension members

The QSuper Income account is an account-based pension product that allows members to use their superannuation funds to provide an income in retirement. The pension is paid until the Income account balance is exhausted. The transition to retirement option allows eligible members to open an Income account and draw an income stream while they're still working. The QSuper Lifetime Pension allows members to use their superannuation funds to purchase an income stream in retirement. The Lifetime Pension provides an income for life for the member and their spouse (if they choose the spouse protection option), no matter how long they live.

For these members, Australian Retirement Trust complies with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) and APRA Prudential Standards in a manner consistent with other public offer superannuation funds.

Defined Benefit products (closed products)

Current members with a QSuper Defined Benefit account are able to maintain their existing benefits until they decide to retire, transfer to an Accumulation account or leave their current employment. The QSuper Defined Benefit account was closed to new members from 12 November 2008. The QSuper Defined Benefit products are funded separately.

Defined Benefit arrangements

Due to the following arrangements, Australian Retirement Trust is classified as an unfunded public sector superannuation scheme. Employing authorities are required to remit QSuper Defined Benefit employer contributions to Queensland Treasury. These contributions are accumulated in a reserve ('Employer Fund'), which forms part of the Queensland Government's consolidated fund. The Employer Fund is maintained to finance the State's future liability for the employer component of all QSuper defined benefits. As defined benefits become payable, money from the Employer Fund is transferred to Australian Retirement Trust to fund the employer's share of these benefits.

We have previously stated our intent to adopt the Insurance in Superannuation Voluntary Code of Practice (the Code). The Code had been scheduled to come into effect on 1 January 2022.

Since the development of the Code, the majority of the requirements have been overtaken by legislative and regulatory reforms, which is why on 1 July 2021, the Code-owners announced they were replacing the Code.

The Code-owners are the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), and the Financial Services Council (FSC).

The Code-owners have jointly developed guidance on issues not covered by legislation – improving outcomes for vulnerable members and claims handling for member with life insurance. For more information, see the Code-owners' announcement.

We are committed to continuing any work that improves members' experiences, and following any new guidance that emerges.

The Investments Proxy Voting Policy contains information on how we delegate the exercise of proxy votes to our equity managers in Australia and overseas.

Every financial year, Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd (the Board) assesses whether the performance of each of our products is promoting the financial interests of our members, as required by law.

The Board considers factors including investment risk, returns, and strategy; fees and costs; product options, benefits, and services; operating costs and scale; and insurance strategy and affordability.

The Board has elected that members employed by the Queensland Police Service, the Queensland Ambulance Service, or the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services be provided with automatic default insurance cover in their QSuper Accumulation account, (existing terms and conditions still apply), which they can cancel at any time.

Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd uses outsourced service providers to help manage QSuper.

Product dashboards provide information (like return targets, fees and risk) to help you compare QSuper's Lifetime, the QSuper MySuper product, with other MySuper products. A dashboard is available for each of the eight groups within Lifetime.

You’ll find more about MySuper products on ASIC's Moneysmart website.

Access our product disclosure statements.

Promoting gender equality is a part of our culture of inclusion and belonging at Australian Retirement Trust, carried over from our heritage organisations, Sunsuper and QSuper.

To meet the requirements of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, Sunsuper and QSuper lodged annual public reports with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency on 28 June 2022. The reports include details on:

  • The gender composition of each organisation’s workforce.
  • The flexibility and support offered for parents and carers.
  • Other actions to promote gender equality.
QSuper gender equality report 2022 (PDF)
Sunsuper gender equality report 2022 (PDF)

QSuper and Sunsuper merged to become Australian Retirement Trust on 28 February 2022. Given the reporting period of 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, this year we submitted reports for each heritage organisation that outlined our strong approach to workplace equality with programs and practices in place to support gender equality.

Our Insurer's promises to you 1

When you have insurance through your QSuper account, it's important that you get the highest standards of service in all your dealings.

That's why our insurer, QInsure Limited, has joined the Financial Services Council (FSC) of Australia and adopted the Life Insurance Code of Practice. It's the life insurance industry's commitment to mandatory customer service standards and it's designed to protect customers.

Find out more

1. QInsure Limited (ABN 79 607 345 853, AFSL 483057) ('QInsure') is a registered life insurance company.

Our MySuper authorisation number is 60905115063050.

The AFSL for Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd is 228975.

The ABN for Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd is 88 010 720 840.

The RSE Licence number for Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd is L0000291.

The ABN for Australian Retirement Trust ("The Fund") is 60 905 115 063.

The RSE Registration number for Australian Retirement Trust ("The Fund") is R1073034.

We must notify members of all significant changes and events within the fund. We do this using a number of mediums, and information about our previous significant event notices can be found below.

Date  Topic Summary
July 2023

The QSuper Retirement Bonus will be changing to a fixed rate design from 1 July 2023.

We are making changes to insurance and premiums for Accumulation account holders from 1 July 2023.

There are also changes to investments from 1 July 2023 which includes updates to objectives, timeframes, risk labels and asset allocations for various investment options, the closure of the Self Invest option for account holders not already invested in the option and changes to the investment strategy of the Socially Responsible option.

We are also providing information about legislative changes occurring at 1 July 2023.

 You can find more information in the Product update (QSuper) July 2023 (pdf)
December 2022

We have advised members about a change to the standard risk measure for our Moderate investment option.

 You can find more information in the About the QSuper Moderate investment option factsheet
August 2022

Some insurance premiums for Queensland police officers have reduced from 1 July 2022.

 You can find more information in the Product update August 2022 (pdf)
June 2022

The administration fees you pay and annual cap on administration fees you pay are both being reduced from 1 July 2022.

We’re changing the way we disclose fees and costs to meet new government regulations designed to make funds’ fees and costs more transparent and comparable.

The merger of QSuper and Sunsuper to become Australian Retirement Trust resulted in some costs that are expected to be offset by the long-term benefits provided to members.

We are also making some changes to our investment options including:

  • Our asset allocation and ranges for some investment options
  • The Standard Risk Measure for QSuper Lifetime group Sustain 2
  • Aligning our investments to help achieve a net zero emissions investment portfolio by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement.
 You can find more information in the Product and legislation update June 2022 (pdf)
January 2022

QSuper has agreed to merge with Sunsuper to form Australian Retirement Trust, subject to outstanding conditions and approvals.

The merger is scheduled to be completed on 28 February 2022.

As part of the merger, Sunsuper member benefits and assets will be transferred to QSuper which will be renamed Australian Retirement Trust. The QSuper Board will resign and Sunsuper Pty Ltd will be appointed as the trustee of Australian Retirement Trust, which will be renamed Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd.

The QSuper brand and products will continue as a part of Australian Retirement Trust as an offering for:

  • Existing QSuper members
  • Employees of the Queensland Government and existing QSuper default employers
  • Spouses and children (who join while under age 25) of QSuper members.
 You can find more information in the Important information booklet January 2022 (pdf)
November 2021

We have changed our approach to capital adequacy of the QSuper Board to ensure continued financial stability of the Board and will charge a fee, to be paid from reserves, in response to legislative changes.

We have made changes to how we apply and disclose Lifetime investment fees and costs for Accumulation accounts, in line with legislative changes.

For Accumulation accounts. we have changed some of the insurance duty of disclosure wording, in line with updated legislation.

 You can find more information in the Product and legislation update November 2021 (pdf)
July 2021

We are reducing some of the fees on our Self Invest investment option from 1 July 2021.

 You can find more information in the Product and legislation update July 2021 (pdf)
May 2021

We are making changes to some of our investment options, including how we invest your money.

We are also making changes to some of our insurance terms and conditions. These changes relate to how and when members may be eligible to receive insurance payments on claims made through their Accumulation accounts. The changes may affect claims made for injuries or illnesses that happen on or after 1 July 2021.

We have provided an update about the Heads of Agreement for the proposed merger of QSuper and Sunsuper, and letting you know about some key legislative changes that relate to superannuation.

 You can find more information in the Product and legislation update May 2021 (pdf)
November 2020

We are making changes to the cost of insurance provided to members through their Accumulation accounts. Most insurance premiums will increase from 1 January 2021.

We are also clarifying wording about default insurance arrangements for members who open their account directly (not through the Queensland Government or a default employer).

You can find more information in the Product and legislation update November 2020 (pdf)
August 2020

Members invested in the Socially Responsible investment option on 9 June 2020 have been advised of a one-off transaction cost incurred in transferring management of this option to QSuper.

Members who are affected have been contacted with details of the changes.

May 2020

Changes to insurance provided through the QSuper Accumulation account:

  • Improvements to cover for pandemic illnesses, and a change to the pandemic illness definition, effective from 11 March 2020.
  • Improvements to cover for disaster relief efforts for Australian Defence Force Reservists effective from 1 April 2020.
  • An update on insurance for members who apply to join the fund before the age of 16.

Changes to some of our investment options:

  • The standard risk measures in our Lifetime and the Socially Responsible investment options will change from 1 July 2020.
  • Replacement of the investment manager, and changes to the guiding principles of our Socially Responsible investment option by 1 July 2020.
  • The Asset allocations for some of our investment options are changing from 1 July 2020.

Updates to our Self Invest option:

  • Changes to the treatment of listed securities in an extended trading halt, effective from 31 January 2020.
  • Change to the process for restoring low transaction account balances from 1 July 2020.

A temporary change to legislated minimum drawdown amounts for Income accounts for 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.

For Defined Benefit account members
From 1 July 2020 we are improving access to your Defined Benefit if you have a terminal medical condition. More information will be provided in the letter we send you.

You can find more information in:


 

A target market determination is a document that describes who a product may be appropriate/inappropriate for (target market), and any conditions around how the product can be distributed to customers (retail clients).

It also includes the events or circumstances where we may need to review the target market determination for our products.

We’re required to have target market determinations under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Act 2019. This legislation was introduced to ensure that financial services product issuers and distributors - like us - have a customer-centric view.

For more information, view the target market determination for each of our products.

Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd was established on 28 February 2022. Our Deed of Amendment for Australian Retirement Trust ("The Trust Deed") and the Government Division Participation Schedule provide the governing rules of the scheme under which we administer the provision of services to members, including the Government Division rules for Defined Benefit members.