The federal government is a step closer to legislating the objective of superannuation, having secured passage of its bill in the House of Representatives earlier this year.

A second reading of the Superannuation (Objective) Bill 2023 was moved in the Senate in March, and Super Consumers Australia has urged senators to back the legislation, saying it will help address retirement challenges facing the country.

“Legislating an objective of super will focus the attention of future policymakers on what matters most to people,” CEO Xavier O’Halloran said.

“The objective will force policymakers to grapple with the real issues facing Australians as they head into retirement.

“The retirement system is currently failing to deliver equitably for all Australians.”

While Super Consumers backs the bill’s passage, the consumer group says it wants two “important” amendments.

It wants the economic impacts of future retirement income policy proposals modelled and published, so they can be tested against the objective of super; and federal government to regularly review the super system to assess how it is delivering on its objective.

The Senate referred the bill’s provisions to its Economics Legislation Committee after the reform was read a second time in the House of Representatives last November.

The committee released its report in March recommending that the bill be passed.

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