The Australian
Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released for public
consultation draft guidance on managing conflicts of interest for
APRA-supervised superannuation trustees (known as Registrable
Superannuation Entity (RSE licensees).Download discussion paper and draft Prudential Practice Guide 521 Conflicts of interest (SPG 521) here.

The draft SPG 521
complements guidance provided by the Australian Securities and
Investment Commission to Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL)
holders by focussing on the governance of the RSE licensee, including those that do not hold an AFSL.

APRA invites interested parties to comment on the draft guide by 30 April 2009.

The Corporations Regulations 2001 have been amended by the Corporations Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 3) to require superannuation funds (other than self managed superannuation funds) to disclose five and ten year average returns in periodic member statements.

The measure will also:

• require returns to be disclosed at the investment option or sub-plan level in which the member is invested; and
• require the long-term returns to be highlighted, positioned and presented in a manner that will attract the member's attention.

For 2008/09, only the five-year return would be required to be disclosed, and disclosure could be made either on the periodic statement or in a separate insert which would be sent to members together with the periodic statement.

Super funds will also be able to use a website as the default method of delivering their annual report.

In addition, where a member has electronic access to personal fund information and has given permission, the fund will no longer be required to provide a written or an electronic member statement.