News / Latest news

We maintain an Alternative Remuneration Register in accordance with the Financial Services Council (FSC) (formerly IFSA) / Financial Planning Association (FPA) Industry Code of Practice*, which outlines the alternative forms of remuneration that are paid and received by us. This register is publicly available by contacting AustChoice Customer Service on 1800 333 900.

* Industry Code of Practice means Standard 14: Industry Code of Practice on Alternative Forms of Remuneration in the Wealth Management Industry

If your complaint relates to AustChoice Investment Service you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The dispute resolution previously conducted by the Financial Industry Complaints Service (FICS) is now conducted by the Financial Ombudsman Service Limited (FOS). FICS merged with the Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman (BFSO) and Insurance Ombudsman Service (IOS) to form the national FOS on 1 July 2008. The contact details for the FOS are:

Telephone: 1300 780 808
Facsimile: (03) 9613 6399
Website: www.fos.org.au
Email: info@fos.org.au
Mail: GPO Box 3, Melbourne Victoria 3001

If your complaint relates to AustChoice Super you can contact the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT)

The new contact details for the SCT are:
Phone: 1300 884 114
Address: Locked Bag 3060 Melbourne, VIC 3001

The application period for the Challenger Guaranteed Income Fund - 6.30 cents p.a. 30 June 2011 (MV$1) (APIR code: HOW0057AU) will expire on 30 June 2010 and the status of the fund will change from "Open" to "Close" on our investment menu.

Also as a result, Challenger has issued a new class, the Challenger Guaranteed Income Fund - 6.10 cents p.a. 31 December 2011 (MV$1) (APIR code: HOW0060AU) and will be available for investment on AustChoice Super and the AustChoice Investment Service.

We were warned that this would be a no frills Budget and the

Treasurer delivered just that - no frills. Other than a modest tax sweetener for interest bearing accounts, there wasn't much in it for superannuation and financial services.

Download our Federal Budget Update for Advisers

Online equity trading and managed fund switching are both now fully functional for advisers. We've previously sent you emails launching the new functions - use the links below to view further details on how these functions work and for access to our user guide and frequently asked questions document.

Online transactions for managed funds launch email - sent 22 Feb 2010

Online share trading launch email - sent 30 Oct 2009

Over the course of the past 12 months, a number of fund managers have implemented restrictions on withdrawals from their funds. If you're invested in any of these funds, we have written to you previously but thought it was worth reminding you how these restrictions work. A full list of these funds can be found within our monthly investment profile summary (available within the performance reports section of our website).

We appreciate that restricted withdrawals can be quite inconvenient. While we're limited in what we can do, we've put together a number of procedures to reduce inconvenience where possible and to ensure that members are treated equitably.

We pay out withdrawal and switch requests on a 'first in, first out' basis

Although some fund managers pay out withdrawals on a pro-rata basis, we use any proceeds received from fund managers to return money to members in the order in which we received their requests.

We resubmit unfilled withdrawal requests on behalf of members

Some fund managers cancel unfilled redemption requests after each redemption window. In these circumstances, we will resubmit these requests on behalf of members for each redemption window until such time as the request is filled. This includes any redemption requests related to investment switches.

Financial hardship requests

The Trustee will consider financial hardship requests as a matter of urgency. All approved requests will be given priority as soon as sufficient funds are received from the fund manager.

Accounts 100% invested in assets with restricted withdrawals

We continue to pay pensions to pension members even if their entire portfolio consists of assets with restricted withdrawals. We are monitoring this on a monthly basis and will notify members if there are any changes. Super members whose entire portfolio consists of assets with restricted withdrawals will have any new contributions invested in the United Cash Management Fund or an alternate investment strategy that they have provided to us.

 If you need any further information regarding funds with restricted withdrawals, please speak to your financial adviser or call our customer service team.

We recently received notification from AMP Capital Investors Limited ('AMP') that there will be no funds available to meet withdrawal requests for the quarterly withdrawal window ending 31 July 2009 for the AMP Capital Enhanced Yield Fund ('the Fund'). The Fund will continue to process withdrawal payments in quarterly windows.

What does this mean for you?

If you have submitted a withdrawal request for the Fund, the request will not be fulfilled.

As with all funds that have restricted withdrawals, we will automatically re-submit any unfulfilled withdrawal requests at the next available withdrawal window.

In challenging economic times, the Federal Government last night handed down one of the most eagerly anticipated budgets for many years. In the end, there weren't many surprises with most of the major initiatives carefully 'leaked' in the days leading up to the official release. We've summarised the key announcements for you in our attached Federal Budget Update.

Download our Federal Budget Update.