Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Patrick, that is correct but only for the moment. The government has flagged its intention to extend the performance test to all products in the market and, in fact, has tasked Treasury with undertaking a consultation process by 1 July 2022 to consider how best to do that, because the data does not exist that will allow us to do that right now.

The most important thing, though, is that the underperformance test applies to MySuper products, to default products, those products that people go into unwittingly and languish in for years unwittingly, particularly if those funds are underperforming. It will also apply from 1 July 2022 to trustee directed products, those multi-asset class products where the trustee is the one that decides what the asset mix is going to be. The vast majority of products that remain are single-asset class products. They are very small in size and they tend to be products that people have gone into on an advised basis. Moreover, they tend to be products that people have gone into as part of a portfolio mix, where you don't put all your money into one gold fund and, if that one gold fund underperforms, it really doesn't make a difference because you've got an equity fund as well—an international equity fund, an Australian equity or an Australian bond fund—and you've done your own diversification. Most of the people in those funds are advised, and that's why they're in there.