The national super fund is accused of breaching its obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 and the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and failing to provide members with information “reasonably necessary for them to understand a material change to a matter, or a significant event that affects a matter, concerning their interest in the QSuper superannuation fund”.

The class action comes after the ATO launched an audit of the fund over a suspected $200 million franking credit stripping scheme in October.

Additionally, the company has previously faced backlash from members over lacking climate policies. In March this year, over 140 QSuper members penned a letter to the company with concerns it wasn’t taking climate change seriously.

Shine Lawyers class actions practice leader Joshua Aylward said QSuper’s conduct resulted in significant financial loss for up to 140,000 members. 

“QSuper changed their life insurance policy on 1 July 2016 and failed to adequately notify its members of how to get cheaper premiums,” he said.

“Significantly, most of the fund members impacted are Queensland government employees and their spouses, teachers and health industry workers like doctors and psychiatrists.”

White-collar workers were also charged the same increased premiums, despite not having the same risk factors present in their jobs – resulting in tens of thousands of QSuper members losing out on superannuation investments.

VIEW ALL

“It’s incredibly disappointing that essential workers serving our community at all hours are those taken advantage of by this super fund,” Mr Aylward added.