Superannuation funds will continue to be able to charge fees across their member base for the provision of intra-fund advice, according to the third tranche of the MySuper legislation.
"It is appropriate that superannuation funds continue to be able to provide a member with simple, non-ongoing personal advice relating to the member's interest in the fund - commonly referred to as intra-fund advice - and that this advice be able to be collectively charged across the fund's membership," Treasury said in the explanatory memorandum to the draft legislation.
Shadow assistant treasurer Mathias Cormann has been critical of infra-fund advice, stating that the fee structure for this advice was similar to a commission-based model.
In a statement last month, Cormann argued that the government needed to provide a comprehensive definition of intra-fund advice in the MySuper legislation.
He said there was a need to ensure such advice is general only and that any personal financial advice provided through a super fund is paid for by the person accessing this advice, with transparency of fees and without forcing fund members to pay for personal advice of others which they have not accessed.
But the legislation has now confirmed the existing practice of providing intra-fund advice and said that simple personal advice costs can be spread out across all members through an administration fee.
"The types of personal advice for which a superannuation trustee cannot charge across the membership of the fund are those types of advice that are likely to be more complex in nature and therefore more costly to provide," the draft legislation, released on Friday, said.
"Further, only personal advice that is of a one-off or transactional nature will be allowed to be spread across the membership of the fund."
The government also confirmed intra-fund advice will not be exempt from any existing legislation around the provision of personal advice and is subject to the obligation for the advice to be appropriate and in the best interests of the member.
