The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has acknowledged the decision (VBN and Ors and Australian  Prudential Regulation Authority and Ors) by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to set aside APRA’s disqualifications of seven directors of the former trustee of the AXA Australia Staff Superannuation Plan (the Fund).

The disqualifications resulted from an investigation into the Fund that resulted in the trustee agreeing to return nearly $10 million in benefits to fund members. On 25 May 2005, APRA and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced they had each accepted an Enforceable Undertaking from the trustee of the Fund to restore benefits.

The restoration meant that the superannuation benefits of more than 2,000 then current and
former members of the Fund were adjusted upwards, with an estimated $9.2 million of the total returned to 288 ‘deferred benefits members’. The rectification also included an offer to certain former members to
re-enter the Fund on actuarially determined terms.

The Enforceable Undertakings related to decisions by the trustee to change the method of calculating the interest rate on members’ benefits with retrospective and detrimental effect, and its transmission of an offer by the employer to buy out future pension entitlements, without adequately informing members.

The AAT found that the actions related to the Enforceable Undertaking from the trustee did not warrant disqualifications for the individuals concerned. The Tribunal concluded that the trustee’s conduct was in the interests of the fund members as a whole.

APRA has decided that it will not appeal the decision.

One of the Fund Trustees was Andy Penn, the next CEO of Axa.