The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is working towards publishing enhanced data on group insurance some time next year, Deputy Chairman Helen Rowell said in a speech.

She told delegates at the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) conference that this year the prudential regulator intends to continue with the publication of the MySuper heatmap and expects this to remain on a December release cycle.

“In addition, this year we intend to publish a heatmap assessing choice products,” Ms Rowell said. “APRA will continue to assess performance in key areas and publish the results, quite simply because it works.”

In her speech, she says the regulator’s superannuation strategy for improving outcomes for super members continues to be underpinned by work in four key areas - strengthening the prudential framework, sharpening supervision, improving data and enhancing transparency.

The key areas of focus for the review of the prudential framework include insurance and investment governance in the first half of 2021, followed by outsourcing, risk management, governance, conflicts and fit and proper standards in late 2021 and 2022.

This year will also see the commencement of the revised superannuation data collection, which will provide a broader and deeper data-set – particularly for choice products.

“It will significantly enhance APRA’s and other stakeholders’ ability to assess key aspects of the superannuation industry such as investment performance, fund expenditure and insurance,” Ms Rowell said.

“This expanded collection is critical for APRA to make further progress on addressing underperforming choice products, and also for implementation of the Government’s Your Future, Your Super reforms.”