CareSuper Board

It’s our board’s responsibility to ensure CareSuper is managed in the best interests of members. Of course, good governance is essential to that.

The CareSuper Board has adopted the standards of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) Governance Code, which promotes continuous improvement in governance practices and goes beyond regulatory requirements to ensure that AIST member funds champion members’ interests through a positive and ethical culture, appropriate documentation including policies, charters and processes, open and full disclosure, appropriate board renewal, strong and relevant skills, fair and responsible remuneration, and rigorous processes for financial, risk management and investment governance. Compliance with the Code will be audited annually, requiring the Fund to submit a report to AIST by September each year. We have submitted our report relating to the year ended 30 June 2019. The Code exceeds any other industry code or principles for superannuation funds.

During the year, we reduced the number of directors from 12 to 10. Importantly, the board is still comprised of an equal number of member and employer directors (five each) and board decisions are made by at least a two-thirds majority.

Over the year, we welcomed three new directors. CareSuper Board members are chosen via a rigorous process. Having been proposed by one of the nominating organisations, such as an employer organisation or union or by the Board itself, the process includes a panel interview and assessment against a detailed statement of responsibilities, including experience, skills, qualifications and capability, as well as fitness and propriety requirements.

A skills matrix is maintained and when vacancies occur, this is used to identify any gaps and to prioritise desired criteria in the selection process. The Board evaluates its performance annually whereby Directors and members of the Executive team complete a questionnaire on factors that lead to effectiveness and good governance. This process was completed in the financial year ending June 2019 and the results were used to debrief the combined group and identify issues for improvement.

Progress on such issues was then tracked through Board meeting processes. Directors also met their minimum training requirements during the financial year.

Associated directorships

During 2018/19, some of our directors and executives held board positions with organisations with which CareSuper has a commercial relationship as a member, sponsor, client or investor.

Terry Wetherall

• Director, NSW Business Chamber Ltd
• Director, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI)
• Director, Industry Super Australia Pty Ltd

Julie Bignell

• ACSI Member Council
• Director, ACSI

Julie Lander

• Director, AIST
• Director, Fund Executives Association Limited (FEAL)
• Director, Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals (BCCM)

Michelle Gardiner

• IFM Shareholder Advisory Board (remunerated)

Dr Jeremy Johnson AM

• Director/President, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Executive Council of Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)

Claire Keating

• Director, Antares Capital Partners Limited
• Director, MLC Investments Limited
• Director, National Asset Management Limited
• Director, Navigator Australia Limited
• Compliance Committee, Legg Mason Asset Management Australia Limited

Robert Potter

• Deputy National Secretary, ASU

Gabriel Szondy (ceased 31 December 2018)

• Director/Chair, Frontier Advisors Pty Limited
• Director, CIE

Cate Wood (ceased 31 December 2018)

• Director, ISPT Pty Ltd (remunerated)
• Director IIPT Pty Ltd
• Director and Chair, Women in Super
• Director, Mother’s Day Classic Foundation
• Director, Industry Super Australia Pty Limited
• IFM Shareholder Advisory Board (remunerated)

Board committees

To help meet its obligations and oversee certain fund operations, the Board has established several committees.

All directors are required to serve on at least one and generally two committees for which they receive a fee. The chair is a member of one committee and attends other committee meetings on an ex officio basis.

Compliance, audit and risk management committee

The Compliance, Audit and Risk Management Committee’s purpose is to assist the Board in meeting its compliance and risk management responsibilities. The committee’s main activities include:

• Internal and external audit monitoring
• Various policy document reviews
• Ongoing monitoring of all risks within CareSuper’s Risk Management Framework.

Governance and remuneration committee

The Governance and Remuneration Committee’s key tasks include:

• Various policy document reviews
• Ongoing monitoring of the risks designated to the committee
• Training for directors – planning for the year based on skills matrix and competency assessment
• Review of intended governance changes by the Federal Government
• Approval of the remuneration budget for staff, executive salaries and the remuneration structure for Directors
• Review of board and committee structures and delegations.

Investment committee

The Investment Committee’s primary function is to monitor the implementation of CareSuper’s investment strategy and investment operations within the framework approved by the board. It is responsible for the ongoing review of all external providers who manage CareSuper’s investments.

Member and employer services committee

The Member and Employer Services Committee (MESC) is responsible for overseeing:

• Our administration function, policies and services
• Our insurance management framework and strategy and the performance of outsourced providers
• CareSuper’s insurance policies
• Risk elements that may arise in relation to relevant areas.

Development and product committee^

The purpose of the Development and Product Committee (DPC) is to oversee CareSuper’s:

• Marketing, education and communications strategies
• Member and employer engagement strategies
• Growth initiatives including consideration of fund mergers
• Product strategy, including significant changes to product features and benefits
• The performance of our ancillary product providers.

^As at 1 July 2019, this committee was dissolved and its responsibilities divided and transferred to the Member and Employer Services Committee and the Board.

Benefit payments sub committee^#

The purpose of the Benefits Payments Sub Committee is to enable the Fund to meet the need for speedy, effective and informed decisions on claims for benefits under the various insurance policies and other provisions of the Fund’s Trust Deed or relevant law. It also acts as a source of information and advice to the MESC and to the Board on detailed aspects of these functions.

#As at 1 July 2019, the name of this committee was amended to the Benefit Payments Committee.

Board and committee remuneration

The Board brings specialist skills and experience to ensure CareSuper is professionally governed. Director remuneration is set using a total annual fee approach for both board and committee work. If a director is a chair, deputy chair or committee member, their fees reflect the additional time and commitment necessary to carry out these duties.

Committee member fees are commensurate with the number of meetings normally scheduled for each committee. Most directors serve on more than one committee. The target level of income for directors and chairs is guided by the median remuneration paid for these roles in ‘profit to members’ funds of a similar size, taking into account funds under management, membership and contribution levels.

¹ Appointed Deputy Chair 1 January 2017, appointed Chair 1 April 2018
² Appointed Deputy Chair 1 April 2018
³ Ceased 31 December 2018
⁴ Commenced 1 January 2018
⁵ Ceased 31 May 2018
⁶ Ceased 31 December 2017
⁷ Appointed 14 August 2018
⁸ Appointed 11 December 2018
⁹ Appointed 1 March 2019
¹⁰ Ceased 1 November 2018

Compliance & risk management

We take managing our members’ super very seriously. To make sure the fund is managed openly, honestly and according to the law, we’ve established rigorous standards, policies and procedures.

The Trustee

The trustee of CareSuper (the Fund) is CARE Super Pty Ltd (the Trustee). The Trustee’s ABN is 91 006 670 060, and its Australian financial services licence number is 235226.

The Trustee has an indemnity insurance policy in place to protect its directors from potential costs of legal action. It is a Registrable Superannuation Entity, licence number L0000956, and is authorised to offer a MySuper product. Its MySuper identification number is 98172275725867.

The Trustee’s approach to managing the Fund is detailed in its governance policies and documents. These documents include, but are not limited to, the Fund’s Trust Deed, Board and Committee Charters and the Trustee Company’s Constitution. They outline the powers and responsibilities vested in the Trustee, as well as the rules for how the Trustee operates. This includes provisions for the appointment and removal of directors. The Board Charter outlines the principle functions, policies and operations of the CareSuper Board.

Changes to the constitution

In December 2018, our Constitution was amended to remove the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA) as a nominating organisation.

Changes to the trust deed

In February 2019, the following amendments were made to our Trust Deed:

• Inclusion of a provision to allow the fund to offer members the ability to provide non-lapsing binding death benefit nominations
• Inclusion of a provision of an age-based membership limit to age 15 or over (with the exception of pension death benefit beneficiaries), and
• Clarification that an attorney cannot make a death benefit nomination on behalf of a member.

Tax policy

CareSuper has a Taxation Policy that is reviewed at least annually. The taxation objective is to ensure that the Fund complies with its statutory taxation reporting obligations and is managed in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.

The taxation philosophy of the Trustee is to:

• Maintain a conservative level of tax risk
• Maximise the after-tax returns to members, and
• Comply with the prevailing revenue laws in all relevant jurisdictions.

Privacy policy

The Trustee updated the Fund’s Privacy Policy & Privacy Collection Statement effective 30 March 2019.

View our Privacy Policy

Compliance

CARE Super is a regulated superannuation fund under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth). The Trustee will continue to operate in accordance with all statutory requirements of superannuation, taxation and other relevant legislation.

Risk management framework

As part of our overall governance strategy, we’ve developed a risk management framework that covers risks across all operations. The framework is actively managed and reviewed by the Board and committees. The material risks covered by this framework include investment governance, liquidity, insurance, fraud, operations, strategy and outsourcing. In addition, ongoing monitoring includes a risk radar to identify any potential future risks.

View our governance documents

Corporate responsibility & sustainability

We’re in super for the long term and recognise our broader responsibility to our employees, stakeholders, the community and the environment. We understand that the way we operate and invest not only affects our members’ financial outcomes, but also the environmental, social and economic conditions of their later years and those of future generations.

INVESTING RESPONSIBLY

While it’s our job to maximise investment returns for members over the long term, how we achieve our returns is also important. Our Responsible Investing Policy outlines how we manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities.

We:

• Require our investment managers to consider ESG factors when selecting and holding investments. This includes a requirement for them to identify and assess climate change risks and opportunities in their investment analysis. Evaluating investment managers on their ESG practices is an integral part of our manager appointment, monitoring and review process.
  2018/19 Report: In the past year, we carried out 49 full manager ESG assessments across asset classes.
• Exercise our voting rights at company meetings and use our influence to support positive corporate behaviours and drive improved ESG practices.
  2018/19 Report: We voted at more than 1300 shareholder meetings and voted against more than 120 resolutions. See how we voted.
• Participate in collaborative initiatives, most notably as a member of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), which engages directly with Australian companies on ESG issues. The key engagement themes include climate change, board diversity, corporate governance, labour and human rights, and corporate culture.
  2018/19 Report: In the past year, ACSI has held more than 260 engagement meetings with ASX300 companies on behalf of CareSuper and other member funds. 
• Have been a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2006.
  2018/19 Report: We reported against the six principles of the PRI and our responsible practices have been awarded A+ by the PRI based on its recent assessment.
• Invest in projects and businesses that contribute to the broader community. These include schools, healthcare, renewable energy and water-related investments.
• We aim to exclude tobacco manufacturing companies from all our portfolios and are a signatory to the Tobacco Free Finance Pledge.
• Monitor CareSuper’s investments on an ongoing basis.

Joining forces for change

To share knowledge, grow awareness and support ESG initiatives, we work with the following organisations:

Industry leading

Climate Change

We believe the best way to address the risks of Climate Change is through co-ordinated global co-operation and action. As global investors, we have a role to play. Our Climate change Position Statement outlines our actions to address the investment risks and opportunities of climate change. We’ll continue to monitor emerging risks, research and market practices on climate change and respond appropriately in our investment activities.

Our commitment to effective stewardship

We’re a proud signatory of the Australian Asset Owner Stewardship Code (the Code). This Code was developed in 2018 by asset owners and coordinated by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI).

The aim of the Code is to improve the quality and transparency of stewardship activities in Australia. Stewardship means we’ll exercise our ownership rights in a manner that protects and enhances long-term investment values by promoting sustainable and responsible practices in the companies in which we invest.

As part of the Code, we publicly report against six key principles. Find out more in our Stewardship Statement.

Investing in the future

We look for investments that not only offer good returns, but are sustainable both financially and environmentally, generate jobs, foster innovation and contribute to a more productive economy.

And for those members for whom sustainability is the priority, we offer a dedicated option that specifically seeks to respond to social and environmental concerns while delivering strong long-term returns. Our Sustainable Balanced option not only meets our ESG criteria, but focuses on investments that drive positive change towards a more sustainable and inclusive world.

Learn more about the SBO

ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE OF MEMBERS AND EMPLOYERS

Our goal is to build enduring relationships with our members and employers by continually adding value. We measure member and employer satisfaction through regular surveys and reporting on a wide range of metrics.

2018/19 Report: In the reporting year, our various net promoter score metrics were very strong, and our last satisfaction survey showed that over 87% of members were ‘highly satisfied’ with our customer service.

ENGAGING AND COLLABORATING WITH INDUSTRY-LEADING PARTNERS

We apply rigorous due diligence processes before appointing (or when reviewing) material outsourced providers and other business partners, in accordance with our Outsourcing Policy. As part of our due diligence process, we ask our partners to provide annual attestations about their relevant credentials.

See our list of service providers

EDUCATING AND INFORMING MEMBERS

In line with our objective to help our members achieve their goals in life, we take responsibility to educate, inform and advise them on superannuation and related topics so that they can make better financial decisions and achieve their desired outcomes. Education and information is available via several channels ranging from face to face engagement at workplaces or public seminars, our website, MemberOnline, direct mail and email communication. General, limited, comprehensive and complex advice is also available.

2018/19 Report: In 2018/19, 1546 members attended a variety of CareSuper seminars held across Australia, and 1075 members sought advice from the financial planning team. Our Client Partnership Team carried out 2,518 workplace visits to meet with members and employers. Our Outbound team also spoke to more than 10,000 members about their super over the phone.

FOSTERING AN ENGAGED, HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORKPLACE

It’s important to provide a positive, supportive and collaborative workplace where employees are proud to work, are motivated to achieve and enjoy equal opportunity and fair treatment.

2018/19 Report: This year’s staff engagement survey showed extremely strong results with our staff responding in the top decile for engagement and alignment, winning us an award.

The resounding majority of staff strongly agreed that:

• They are proud to work at CareSuper
• Senior management acts with integrity
• A clear set of organisational values guides their workplace behaviours, and
• Their work group has a strong customer service focus and that it works well to achieve common goals.

Attracting, retaining and developing skilled employees who embody our goals and values is also crucial to maintaining our status as a high-performing fund.

2018/19 Report: Our staff turnover rate for the FY2019 year was 11%, compared with the financial services industry average of 18%.

Comprising representatives from every team, the Good to Great working group was responsible for several initiatives this year, including a revamped Reward & Recognition program linked to our SPIRIT values and a renewed focus on employee health & wellbeing.

OPERATING SUSTAINABLY

Our operational footprint is small, but we’re always looking for ways to reduce our use of resources and minimise waste.

We have continued with various sustainability measures, including:

• Our comprehensive recycling system
• Encouraging staff to use online communications and reporting systems to reduce travel and printing
• Energy efficient workspaces through use of green energy
• Improving the energy efficiency of our offices
• Discounted travel passes for staff to use public transport, and
• Purchasing carbon offsets for travel.

To further minimise our operational footprint, we’re planning to offset our carbon emissions from our operations for FY2019 and FY2018. Currently, we’re in the process of obtaining our carbon neutral certification, which complies with the National Carbon Offset Standard.

CONTRIBUTING TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY

We exist as part of a broader community and so do our members. So, while as a profit-to-members fund we don’t donate money to charities, we provide opportunities for personal donations to selected causes and for personal commitments to volunteering.

2018/19 Report: Community engagement continued in 2019 with our staff encouraged to donate blood and participate in community events such as the Mother’s Day Classic, which we sponsor. Our staff contributed $790 towards our CEO’s impressive fundraising total of $34,431.

Several staff also contributed to the wider industry through membership of policy committees and participation in public forums.

EXHIBITING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF GOVERNANCE

We respect human rights, oppose corruption, and wholeheartedly abide by both the letter and spirit of applicable laws, rules and regulations across our operations and investments.

2018/19 Report: In 2018, we adopted AIST’s new Governance Code. Adherence to the Code requires annual reporting and compliance review. The first year of reporting is 2019 and our report has been submitted. The Board continues to undertake a benchmarked Board Effectiveness Survey, which in 2018 demonstrated positive results, with a focus on strategy and continuous improvement.

BEING ACCOUNTABLE

Trust and affinity can only be won by doing what we say we’ll do, and by continuously striving for improvements and superior results for members and employers. We make sure we’re accountable for our actions and performance by disclosing them on our website, financial statements, annual reports and product disclosure statements.