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Guiding principles for industry best practice

Last updated 19 August 2019

These guiding principles for industry include:

  • the best interests of the member (including a super fund member, approved deposit fund (ADF) depositor or retirement savings account (RSA) holder) should be of primary concern, when applying the law and the guidelines within this document
  • lost member tests should be applied at the member level, not the account level
  • if a member is proven to know about their account and demonstrates this by an indication of engagement, the intent of the legislation is that they are not a lost member  
    • indications of engagement might include  
      • the member makes a decision/ undertakes an action relating to their account (for example, they defer a benefit, change their investment allocation or change their insurance)
      • the member calls you to check in (that is, no account activity is undertaken)
      • the member logs on to an online service provided by you, and views their account
      • the member proactively opts out of a service you provide, where their account membership is referenced
      • the member contacts you (for example, via phone, mail, email) to ask a question about their account's investment strategy.
  • a member's individual circumstances should be considered when determining appropriate action. This might include variables such as  
    • the member's age
    • the member's account balance
    • the member's insurance status
    • the member's investment strategy
    • previous contact with the member
    • activity patterns on the member’s account.

QC82664