Super Payments to Unions Exposed

Despite new laws and investigations from the super regulator APRA, super funds continue to send millions of dollars to unions each year. New data from the AEC shows in 2021-22, super funds paid $10 million to unions in political payments. Since 2006, super funds have sent more than $115 million to the trade unions. The CFMEU banked $4.47m in 2021-22 and $33.65m overall. Everyone knows that super funds are retirement homes for Labor politicians. But they are also cash cows for unions and Labor. These payments should not occur if they are not in the best interests of members. The Parliament has enacted very clear laws to protect workers from dodgy super fund bosses who prioritise unions or banks over people. Given the persistence of these dodgy payments, we might need even clearer laws. APRA has been investigating several funds for some time. I am waiting to see some action. We may need to make further legislative amendments to ban these payments outright if APRA doesn’t get cracking. ‍ **[Ends]** ‍