Federal Court declares Fair Work Commission Expert Panel invalid
John Brogden
The Full Federal Court last week upheld a challenge by the Financial Services Council and determined that the Fair Work Commission Expert Panel for the selection of MySuper default funds in Modern Awards is invalid.
The Federal Court declared that:
- The decision by the President of the FWC to appoint himself to Expert Panel is not valid; and,
- The Expert Panel is not correctly constituted.
John Brogden, CEO of the Financial Services Council said: “The Federal Court found the FWC Expert Panel lacked the number of superannuation experts required by law.”
FWC President, Iain Ross was also found to have acted outside his legislative powers by appointing himself to the Expert Panel.
“We have argued from the beginning that the Expert Panel was conflicted and then incorrectly reconstituted,” Mr Brogden said.
“The Federal Court has today upheld our position.”
“We want an open, competitive process which allows every APRA-approved MySuper product to compete for default superannuation contributions.”
“A genuinely competitive market will lead to more transparency, lower fees and better services for employers and employees,” he said.
