9.1 Background

United Super Pty Ltd is the trustee of Construction and Building Unions Superannuation, better known as Cbus.

Australian Super Pty Ltd is the trustee of the AustralianSuper Fund.

Sunsuper Pty Ltd is the trustee of the Sunsuper Superannuation Fund.

Cbus, AustralianSuper and Sunsuper are ‘profit-for-member’ superannuation funds. The shareholders of each RSE licensee are trade unions and employer organisations. Those shareholders are entitled, under the RSE licensees’ respective constitutions, to appoint directors to the trustee board. The Commission looked at three issues that can arise as a result of this structure: tenure, in the case of AustralianSuper; size, in the case of Cbus; and dismissal, in the case of Sunsuper.

The Commission heard oral evidence about these issues from AustralianSuper’s Chief Executive, Ian Silk. The Commission also received written statements from the Chair of United Super, Stephen Bracks,[1] and the Chair of Sunsuper, Andrew Fraser.[2]


[1] Exhibit 5.336, Witness statement of Stephen Bracks, 25 July 2018; Exhibit 5.337, Witness statement of Stephen Bracks, 3 August 2018.

[2] Exhibit 5.331, Witness statement of Andrew Fraser, 30 July 2018; Exhibit 5.332, Witness statement of Andrew Fraser, 4 August 2018.

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