On 4 February 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published a media release noting that it is urging superannuation trustees to strengthen their anti-scam and fraud practices following a review that exposed significant gaps in member communications.

ASIC’s findings

ASIC assessed scams and fraud-related website content across 47 superannuation funds and benchmarked them against comparable content from the big four banks. The review focused on the availability, quality, and actionability of anti-scam and fraud content, including clarity, relevance, prominence, and readability.

The findings revealed a stark performance gap: banks scored positively in over 80% of criteria assessed, whereas most super funds scored positively against just 40–60% of the same criteria.

ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant noted that, despite being custodians of $4.3 trillion in Australian retirement savings, the superannuation industry has been slow to respond to evolving scam and fraud risks to members. According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, members suffered $22 million in losses from super-related scams in 2025.

Key areas for improvement

ASIC’s review identified three key areas for improvement:

  • Availability: While most super fund websites included some scam and fraud material, this information was often hard to find or lacked prominence. Several funds provided no scam or fraud information at all.
  • Quality: Two-thirds of super fund websites included examples of scams and fraud, but content was frequently outdated, generic, or overly complex. Only 19% of super funds clearly defined what constitutes a scam, and one-third did not provide messaging on common scam signs.
  • Actionability: Only about one-third of super fund websites provided actionable information for members to prevent or report scams and fraud. Just one in five offered a dedicated contact method for scam and fraud reporting.

Trustees are strongly encouraged to read and consider ASIC’s January 2025 letter and to read and address the baseline measures set out in REP 761 (scam prevention, detection and response by the four major banks) and REP 790 (anti-scam practices of banks outside the four major banks).

ASIC also encourages trustees to closely monitor the Commonwealth Government’s rollout of the Scams Prevention Framework (SPF). While superannuation is currently excluded from the SPF, the government has indicated the framework would be open to future inclusion of the superannuation industry.

Next steps for trustees Supporting better retirement outcomes and member services is a core strategic priority for ASIC. Combatting investment scams and reducing their impact on Australian consumers continues to be an ongoing priority for ASIC. ASIC encourages trustees to review and enhance their anti-scam and fraud website communications in line with ASIC’s findings.