Deanne Stewart

TelstraSuper and Aware Super have successfully completed their merger, less than a year since they first began to explore the proposal.

About 85,000 TelstraSuper members have now joined Aware Super via a Successor Fund Transfer (SFT) to create a superannuation fund with approximately 1.3 million members and over $235 billion in funds under management.

The two funds first announced plans to explore a merger in July last year, signed a Heads of Agreement in October and executed the SFT on 30 April.

Aware Super CEO Deanne Stewart said: “This merger is a significant achievement in the history of Aware Super and TelstraSuper and enables members to benefit from the deep retirement and advice capabilities of both organisations, greater scale and enhanced member outcomes.

“Remarkably, it has been achieved in only 9 months which speaks to the alignment of values and strong execution capabilities of both organisations.

“We are thrilled to welcome TelstraSuper members to Aware Super and excited at the opportunities ahead to help them achieve their best possible retirement.

“Our sincere thanks to the TelstraSuper Board, Executive and broader team for their dedication to their members and making the merger a success.”

Former TelstraSuper CEO Chris Davies said: “We’re pleased to see the merger successfully completed, and proud that TelstraSuper has joined with the right partner to support our members’ long‑term best interests. Aware Super shares our deep commitment to members and is well placed to continue delivering strong retirement outcomes.

“Congratulations to everyone involved across both organisations for their hard work and unwavering focus on supporting our members – now and into the future.”

Aware will continue a period of heightened support and additional resourcing over the coming weeks to ensure member questions and requests are responded to promptly.

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Anne-Marie O’Loghlin

TelstraSuper and Aware Super have announced the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore a potential merger between the two superannuation funds.

The proposed merger would create a combined profit-to-member fund with approximately $228 billion in funds under management and serve over 1.3 million members.

Both organisations will now undertake a comprehensive due diligence process to ensure the proposed merger is in the best financial interests of their respective members.

The potential merger represents a significant opportunity to build scale and enhance outcomes for members of both funds.

By combining Aware Super’s innovative digital capabilities with TelstraSuper’s personalised service excellence, the parties say the merger has the potential to deliver enhanced retirement solutions, market-leading financial guidance and advice, along with an unwavering focus on member services that can make a real difference to members’ lives.

The combined entity will look to establish itself as the most trusted leader in retirement, with the scale and expertise to support Australians throughout their retirement journey.

TelstraSuper Chair Anne-Marie O’Loghlin AM said: “Aware Super is a highly regarded, award-winning fund with the scale to help deliver improved retirement outcomes for members. It is expected that the proposed merger will deliver lower fees, an expanded investment menu and a national servicing footprint to help TelstraSuper members further enhance their planning and transition into retirement.”

Aware Super Chair Christine McLoughlin AM said: “This proposed merger presents a compelling opportunity to unite two funds that share a deep commitment to member-first values. TelstraSuper’s legacy of personalised service and member loyalty aligns seamlessly with Aware Super’s focus on being super helpful, super easy, and delivering super returns. We also look forward to welcoming TelstraSuper’s strong corporate employer relationships and specialised capabilities that will significantly accelerate our corporate super offering.

Together, we can amplify our strengths to deliver even greater retirement outcomes for our members, with market-leading retirement offerings, truly personalised help and guidance and global investment capabilities.”

Pending the outcomes of due diligence, it is expected that the merger would be executed via a Successor Fund Transfer (SFT) in the fourth quarter of the 2025-26 financial year.

While the due diligence process is underway, both funds will continue to operate independently with no disruption to members or employers.

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