QSuper class action

If you are a potential Group Member in the class action, a Notice of Proposed Settlement will be sent to you via email (if we have an email address recorded for you) by 8PM on 5 December 2025, or by post (if we do not have an email address recorded for you). If the Notice of Proposed Settlement is sent to you by post, it might take a little longer to reach you.

If you receive a Notice of Proposed Settlement via email or post, the covering communication will contain a Unique Identifier, which is a unique number allocated to you.  Do not share it with anyone. If you choose to register, your Unique Identifier is used to confirm your eligibility. It must be correctly entered in the registration form for it to be accepted. If your registration form is not accepted and you believe you are an eligible Group Member, please check the Unique Identifier for typographical errors.

If you believe you are a Group Member, and you have not received a Notice of Proposed Settlement via email or post, and so have not received the covering communication with a Unique Identifier, please check your email junk/spam folder – and otherwise wait until after Wednesday, 10 December 2025 to contact us, in case the Notice of Proposed Settlement is still making its way to you.

In the meantime, you can access a copy of the notice here or here. The notice may help you determine if you are a Group Member. 

If you are unsure whether or not you are a Group Member, you should contact Shine Lawyers, via https://www.shine.com.au/qsuper or seek your own legal advice as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that while you can contact Shine Lawyers for further assistance, given the number of potential Group Members, please read the notice and information on Shine Lawyers’ website first (including the registration form).

No. QSuper has not disclosed any members’ personal information to the Applicant or the lawyers for the Applicant, Shine Lawyers.

In accordance with Court Orders, distribution of the Notice of Proposed Settlement (and the previous Opt Out Notice) occurred through a third-party mailing house ordinarily engaged by QSuper, using a unique email address – shinelawyers@qsuperclassaction.com.au.

In using QSuper’s usual third-party mailing house, QSuper is able to rely on its contractual arrangements with the third-party mailing house that require that mailing house to:

• have a necessary and proportionate level of protection in consideration of the heightened risk of cyber security breaches; and
• comply with various international and Australian standards relating to data security.

The QSuper Board has reached an agreement to settle the class action relating to the introduction of occupational ratings for insurance purposes for QSuper members on 1 July 2016. The legal action started before QSuper merged with Sunsuper to form Australian Retirement Trust (ART). 

The QSuper Board hasn’t admitted any wrongdoing and chose to settle the matter to avoid the risk of costs from ongoing litigation.  

The settlement will be paid from a reserve set aside by QSuper before the merger. Importantly, member accounts will not be impacted.  

The settlement amount is $67 million which includes legal costs and disbursements, and other fees and costs associated with the class action. 

The funds to settle the class action will not come out of member accounts. The settlement amount will come out of money that had already been set aside by QSuper to provide for the potential liability from the class action, which was put into a reserve at the time of the merger to form Australian Retirement Trust. 

Please refer to Section I of the Notice of Proposed Settlement. A copy of the notice is available here or here.

Please refer to the Notice of Proposed Settlement for information on whether you may be eligible to receive a payment and the options available to you. A copy of the notice is available here or here.

The agreement to settle the class action was taken to avoid the risk of costs associated with ongoing litigation and has been taken in accordance with our duty to act in members’ best financial interests.  

In agreeing to resolve the litigation, the QSuper Board Pty Ltd has made no admission of liability or wrongdoing. 

If you want to object to the proposed settlement, you must complete a Notice of Objection (available from Shine Lawyers’ website) and email it to Shine Lawyers by 4.00 pm (AEST) on 27 February 2026. This form will be provided to the judge. If you object but still want to be considered to receive a payment if the settlement is approved, you must also register. More information is set out at Section B of the Notice of Proposed Settlement. A copy of the notice is available here or here.

Please refer to Section K of the Notice of Proposed Settlement for information on legal and other costs in the proceeding. A copy of the notice is available here or here. 

The agreement to settle the class was taken to avoid the risk of costs associated with that litigation process continuing and in accordance with our duty to act in members’ best financial interests.  

While a settlement has been reached, it remains subject to Court approval, and we are limited in the information we can provide and are unable to give members advice. 

We let current QSuper members know about the settlement via an email update and an update to this webpage on 27 May 2025.  

The settlement remains subject to Court approval. Further information about the process is available in the Notice of Proposed Settlement. A copy of the notice is available here or here. 

A class action is a claim brought by one or more persons on their own behalf and on behalf of a group of people (called the group members) against another person (called the respondent, being the QSuper Board Pty Ltd as the trustee for the former QSuper superannuation fund in this case). 

For more information about this class action, refer to the Shine Lawyers webpage. 

The class action was based on the introduction of occupational ratings for insurance purposes for QSuper members on 1 July 2016. For information regarding this class action, please refer to the Further Amended Statement of Claim filed by the Applicant and/or the Defence to the Further Amended Statement of Claim filed by the QSuper Board Pty Ltd. 

You can obtain a copy of the Further Amended Statement of Claim and Defence to the Further Amended Statement of Claim either: 

• by downloading them from the Federal Court of Australia website;  
• by downloading them from Shine Lawyers at https://www.shine.com.au/service/class-actions/qsuper-class-action or requesting a copy of them by telephone on 1800 560 652; or 
• by contacting the Registry of the Federal Court (contact details are available at https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/contact). 

As the settlement is still subject to Court approval, we are unable to speak to you further about the class action or advise you about it. If you would like more detail, please visit  Shine Lawyers’ webpage. You can also seek independent legal advice. 

The class action only relates to members who are a ‘Group Member’ as defined in the Further Amended Statement of Claim, as follows: 

• were members (Fund Members): 

• of the QSuper superannuation fund (QSuper Fund); and 
• who on 17 May 2016 belonged to one of the accumulation categories defined by sections 22(1) and (2) of the Superannuation (State Public Sector) Deed 1990 (the QSuper Deed); and 
• who were beneficiaries of the policy of insurance established by the QSuper Board by sections 23I(1) and 23K of the QSuper Deed which commenced on or about 16 December 2013; and 
• who, had they made the necessary election under clause 10.4.1 of the policy of insurance entered into on or about 9 June 2016 by QSuper with QInsure Pty Ltd (QInsure) to be subject to “Occupational Rates” (as defined in the schedules to the policy), would have been entitled after 1 July 2016 to be charged premiums at one of the following rates: 
  • Standard Rate (as defined in the schedules to the policy) – where the Fund Member was between the ages of 17 and 39 years (inclusive); or 
  • Professional Rate (as defined in the schedules to the policy); or 
  • White Collar Rate (as defined in the schedules to the policy),
    or 

• at any time after 1 July 2016 received payment in respect of a deceased Fund Member of all or part of the interest of a Fund Member in the QSuper Fund; or 
• satisfy both of the following paragraphs: 

• was the spouse of a person who was a Fund Member; and 
• pursuant to an order or settlement in a Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) proceeding or a superannuation agreement within the meaning of part VIIIB of that Act, at any time received a transfer from a Fund Member of all or part of the Fund Member’s interest in the QSuper Fund. 

Please refer to the Notice of Proposed Settlement for information on whether you may be eligible to receive a payment and the options available to you. A copy of the notice is available here or here.

Class actions in Australia are generally conducted on an opt out, rather than opt in, basis. A person does not need to elect or consent to be a Group Member, but is given the opportunity to opt out during the progress of the class action. This is set out in the relevant legislation and is an important procedural aspect of class actions in Australia. 

In April 2023 certain current and former QSuper Members, including those who may have received a payment from a deceased Fund Member’s interest in the QSuper Fund, or those who have received a payment from a Fund Member’s QSuper account pursuant to an order or settlement in a Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) proceeding, may have received a Notice of Opt Out Deadline about the QSuper Class Action (Opt Out Notice). 

The Opt Out Notice was ordered by the Court to be issued to persons who are potential Group Members in the QSuper Class Action. 

The deadline set by the Court for opting out of the class action was 15 June 2023, and later extended to 20 September 2023, and has now closed. 

No. Subject to Court approval of the settlement, the settlement amount will come out of a financial reserve set aside by QSuper at the time of the merger with Sunsuper to form ART. No funds to settle the class action will come out of member accounts. 

No. Your current level of insurance remains unchanged. Everyone's insurance needs are different, so we encourage members to understand how much cover you have, and whether it is right for your unique circumstances. 

The QSuper Class Action does not relate to members who have only held an ART Super Savings (formerly Sunsuper) account, including those members who have opened an ART Super Savings account since the merger to form ART on 28 February 2022.  

The QSuper Class Action only relates to those members who satisfy the definition of a 'Group Member'. The definition of a ‘Group Member’ is outlined above in full in the QSuper Member Q&A – refer to ‘Who is an eligible Group Member? Does this class action relate to me? What is the definition of a Group Member in the Further Amended Statement of Claim?’. 

No. The QSuper Class Action does not relate to members who have only held an ART Super Savings (formerly Sunsuper) account. Money was set aside before the merger to provide for the potential liability from the class action. If approved, the settlement amount will come out of the money set aside by QSuper before the merger with Sunsuper to form ART. No funds to settle the class action will come out of member accounts.

As the class action is a legal proceeding, Court rules mean we cannot discuss the class action with you or advise you about the proceeding. 

The class action only relates to members who are a ‘Group Member’ as defined in the Further Amended Statement of Claim and outlined above in the QSuper Member Q&A – refer to ‘Who is an eligible Group Member? Does this class action relate to me? What is the definition of a Group Member in the Further Amended Statement of Claim?’. 

For more information, please refer to the Shine Lawyers webpage in respect of the QSuper Class Action or the Notice of Proposed Settlement A copy of the notice is available here or here. You can also seek independent legal advice.

We completed our merger because it was in the best financial interests of both the Sunsuper members and the QSuper members. Our size and scale allow us to continue to provide strong long-term returns and better services for our more than two million members – this remains the case.  

As there is no impact to members who have only held an ART Super Savings (formerly Sunsuper) account, we are not currently planning any direct communications. However, we are keeping our website updated so all members can access the latest information. 

You can also visit Shine Lawyers’ website or seek independent legal advice.