Almost $40m in Industry Super Fund Payments Given to Unions to Pay for Marketing and Ad Campaigns

Industry super funds last year pumped almost $40 million in payments to unions and their umbrella lobby group, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

Previous payments to the unions from industry super funds are already under investigation by The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

But despite the investigation into almost $9 million in payments to unions in 2021-2022 the industry super funds increased payments to more than $16 million last year.

Another $21.5 million was handed over to ISA, which has now merged with another group to become Super Members Australia which represents funds managing $1.4 trillion for 10 million Australians.

NSW Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg crunched the numbers for the first full year of mandatory disclosures and said it revealed that super funds are “supercharging” payments to unions and union groups.

“No other sector of the economy is as extravagant. Workers’ super has kept unions afloat as membership has tumbled,” he said.

Australian Super, CBUS, HESTA, Hostplus, TWUSuper and First Super top the list of super funds each paying more than $1 million to unions “for services” including directors fees and advertising including the hugely successful “From little things, big things grow” campaign.

“No one expected the super funds to be so keen to give our money to unions and ultimately the Labor Party,” he said. “This is effectively propaganda money.”

Mr Bragg argued it was not a good use of member money. “$37m in one year funds a lot of retirements,” he said.

Unions in turn donated almost $17 million to state and federal Labor in the previous financial year. Labor luminaries who are now on super fund boards include former deputy prime minister Wayne Swan who is chair of Cbus and former attorney general Nicola Roxon who is chair of HESTA.

Economist Cameron Murray from think tank Fresh Economic Thinking said super funds should be obliged to tell members about donations and give them the option to veto the payments.

“This is our retirement money,” he said.

A spokesman for financial regulator APRA said its investigation into payments made by industry super funds was ongoing.

Previously APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole said investigators were looking for more detail on how super fund money had been spent.

“This whole issue of members’ best financial interest and what super funds are spending members’ money on is absolutely critical to us. It’s at the heart of what we do, we care enormously that the money that members have in super funds should be there for their retirement future,” she said.

“We are pushing into issues and expenditure and what is right, what‘s appropriate and in certain cases we are pushing into the details of that where we feel we have to look into further.”

Australian Super was one of the most generous funds, handing ISA almost $5.2 million and several unions a total of $3.6 million. A spokesman for the fund said it does not make donations to trade unions or political parties.

“We have formal marketing agreements with a range of commercial organisations, some of which are businesses such as media organisations along with trade unions and employer associations. All transactions are made on normal commercial terms, under normal conditions and at market rates,” he said.

An ISA spokeswoman said the joint marketing campaign helped industry super funds attract members and kept costs down.

“ISA’s most famous and long-running campaign, Compare the Pair highlights the outperformance of industry super funds against the for-profit sector,” she said. “Research shows the Industry SuperFunds symbol is highly influential when Australians choose a super fund and is a brand that is recognised by 87 per cent of Australians.”

A spokesman for the Australian Council of Trade Unions said it received money for services including advertising and promotion.

“All monies received from industry super funds are vigorously regulated and accounted and deliver great value for money for fund members,” he said.