Southern Select Corporation Annual Report 2023-24

To: Hon. Stephen Mullighan MP, Treasurer

On behalf of the Board of the Southern Select Super Corporation, I am pleased to present the Annual Report for the Financial Year ended 30 June 2024.

The Report is submitted for your information and presentation to Parliament in accordance with the requirements of Section 33 of the Public Corporations Act 1993 and Regulation 23 of the Public Corporations (Southern Select Super Corporation) Regulations 2012 and Premier and Cabinet Circular PC013 Annual Reporting.

This Report is verified to be accurate for the purposes of annual reporting to the Parliament of South Australia.

Submitted on behalf of the Southern Select Super Corporation by:

It is our pleasure to present the Southern Select Super Corporation Board Annual Report for 2023 24.

Southern Select Super Corporation's funds under management as at 30 June 2024 was $42.1 million and the total number of members was 2,000.

Members have responded positively to Super SA's Limited Public Offer, which was introduced in November2022 to give eligible members the ability to direct contributions from non-SA Government employers to Super SA Select. In the past financial year, we have seen an increase of 113% in the Super SA Select accounts.

Super SA continues to have a strong local presence. Our Member Centre at the corner of Pirie and Pulteney Streets, serves as a convenient 'one stop shop' for our members.

The Board has developed its strategy in the spirit of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) Prudential Standard SPS 515 Strategic Planning and Member Outcomes, a standard which requires regulated superannuation funds to deliver demonstrable quality outcomes and act in the best financial interests of its members.

Strategic direction

The Board's focus is on continued growth, sustainability and modernisation with a vision to be the most trusted superannuation fund for current and former South Australian public servants.

Super SA has adopted this important standard to serve the best financial interests of
our members. We will continue to achieve this by:

• Collaborating with our investment partner, Funds SA: to deliver strong investment outcomes for our members
• Designing competitive products: to meet the needs of both current and future
  members, through our superannuation and insurance product offerings
• Enhancing digital member capabilities: focussing on increasing member engagement while maintaining strict cybersecurity measures.
• Delivering a member centric experience: continuing to foster a culture focused
  on the best interests of our members.

Investment performance

Global markets continued to be volatile over the year with a selection of technology
companies driving more than half of the growth in the US stock market. Despite
challenges, our investment partner Funds SA returned a positive 8.4% financial year
return for members invested in Super SA Select's Balanced option.

Super SA continues to focus on positive, long-term performance underpinned by extensive knowledge and expertise. By continually focusing on long term investment strategies and results, rather than short term market fluctuations, our members can expect returns to consistently meet the investment objectives.

Thank you

To all our members, thank you for entrusting us as your superannuation provider. We appreciate and value your membership.

We also thank the Board and all Super SA staff for their continued dedication to members' best interests throughout the past 12 months.

 

Signed by:

Overview: about the agency

Our strategic focus
Our organisational structure 
Changes to the agency 
Our Minister
Our Board (as at 30 June 2024)
Legislation administered by the agency

The agency’s performance

Performance at a glance
Agency specific objectives and performance

Financial performance

Financial performance at a glance
Other financial information
Other information

Risk management

Risk and audit at a glance
Fraud detected in the agency
Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud
Public interest disclosure

Public complaints

Number of public complaints reported 
Additional metrics
Service improvements 
Compliance statement 

Appendix: Audited financial statements 2023-24

Our strategic focus

Our Purpose

To act as trustee of Super SA Select in accordance with its obligations under the Public Corporations (Southern Select Super Corporation) Regulations 2012 and administer the trust deed and rules of Super SA Select.

Our Vision

To be the most respected superannuation fund.

Our Values

Dedication – we are members serving members, so we go the extra mile and always look for ways to do better
Insight – our experience means we know our SA members, and we build on this knowledge to deliver the best outcomes
Integrity – our ethical principles are non-negotiable, and we act in our members’ best interests transparently and consistently.

Our functions, objectives and deliverables

Our strategy is to excel and improve member experience whilst being competitive on fees and returns.

Our organisational structure 

Changes to the agency 

During 2023-24 there were no changes to the agency’s structure and objectives as a result of internal reviews or machinery of government changes.

Our Minister

The Hon. Stephen Mullighan MP is the Treasurer and is the Minister responsible for Superannuation.

Our Board (as at 30 June 2024)

June Roache

Presiding Member (Chair), appointed by the Governor from 27 July 2023.

Ms Roache has extensive business experience, having held chief executive roles and several governance roles in South Australia, nationally and internationally. Her experience extends to commercial, health, sports, arts and regulatory and not for profit organisations.

She is also currently Presiding Member of the South Australian Superannuation Board and Chair of the South Australian Forestry Corporation Board.

Ms Roache has a Degree in Accounting from the University of SA, a Graduate Certificate in Management from Mt Eliza Business School and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, CPA Australia and the Institute of Managers and Leaders.

Alison Kimber

Member representative elected from 2 October 2021 - 1 October 2024.

Significant board and executive experience in financial markets, superannuation, and community service delivery. More than 30 years’ experience in the finance, government, and not-for-profit sectors.

Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

Councillor, Australian Institute of Company Directors SA/NT and Board Member of the South Australian Superannuation Board, Member, Cabaret Fringe Association Board, Member, ACT City Renewal Authority Board and Board member Can Do Group.

William Griggs

Member representative elected from 2 October 2021 - 1 October 2024.

Bill Griggs brings to the Board significant leadership and board experience, with expertise in corporate governance, people and culture, superannuation, investment, and insurance. He has a particular interest in managing/coping during times of uncertainty, and in evidence-based decision making.

Current Directorships or equivalent - Director, Funds SA, Director, Return to Work SA, Board Member, Super SA Board and Board member, St John Ambulance.

Fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Richard Dennis

Appointed by the Governor from 23 July 2021 - 22 July 2024.

Richard Dennis is a legal practitioner and consultant and held the position of South Australian Parliamentary Counsel 2006-2015.

Director of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller Australasia and Board Member of the South Australian Superannuation Board.

Rosina Hislop

Appointed by the Governor from 14 December 2023.

An experienced board director and national facilitator with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Ms Hislop serves on the boards of enterprises across health, education and aged care and Board Member of the South Australian Superannuation Board.

Independent director at Dr Jones & Partner Medical Imaging and chair of the risk and performance committee at the Department of Child Protection, chair of the governing council of the South Adelaide Local Health Network, chair of Seymour College and director of GPEx.

Attendance at Board and Committee meetings¹

All members serve in a part-time capacity.

Board members attend a variety of national conferences and education seminars.

During the 2023-24 year, Board members attended the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia Conference (Adelaide, November 2024).

Name	Board		Audit, Risk and Finance Committee
	Eligible to attend	Attended	Eligible to attend	Attended
June Roache	9	8	2	32
Rosina Hislop	3	3	2	2
Richard Dennis	10	9	5	4
Bill Griggs	10	7	-	12
Alison Kimber	10	9	3	3

 

Legislation administered by the agency

The Corporation is established and governed pursuant to the Public Corporations (Southern Select Super Corporation) Regulations 2012. The Corporation, as trustee is responsible to the Treasurer for all aspects of the administration of the Public Corporations (Southern Select Super Corporation) Regulations 2012. Super SA Select is administered pursuant to a trust deed and rules.

The Southern Select Super Corporation Charter has been prepared in accordance with regulation 15 of the Public Corporations (Southern Select Super Corporation) Regulations 2012. The functions of the Corporation are described in Regulation 13.

The Government of South Australia, other states and territories and Commonwealth Government have entered into a Heads of Government Agreement on superannuation (HOGA) that recognises certain public sector schemes are exempt public sector superannuation schemes and therefore exempt from the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) (SIS) Act 1993 (Cwth).

Each scheme is, however, deemed to be a complying fund in terms of the SIS Act, for superannuation guarantee purposes under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 and for income tax purposes under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. In terms of the HOGA, the government has made a commitment to use best endeavours to ensure that the exempt public sector schemes conform to the principles of the Commonwealth's retirement income policy objectives.

Other related agencies (within the Minister's area/s of responsibility)

Super SA

On behalf of the Corporation, the State Superannuation Office (Super SA) is responsible for administering Super SA Select in accordance with its trust deed and rules.

This arises from the Public Corporations (Southern Select Super Corporation) Regulations 2012, which enables the Corporation to make use of the staff or facilities of an administrative unit of the SA Public Sector, with the approval of the Minister of that administrative unit. Super SA, a branch of the Department of Treasury and Finance, provides administrative services to the Corporation on this basis.

The Board's service level contract with the Department of Treasury and Finance sets out specific performance standards. The contract was extended to 30 June 2026.

The annual budget for the operation of Super SA Select is presented to the Corporation for its approval.

The use of consultants, contractors, Work, Health and Safety reporting and executive employment statistics are included in the Department of Treasury and Finance's Annual Report.

Funds SA

In accordance with the Public Corporations (Southern Select Super Corporation) Regulations 2012, the Corporation is responsible for the investment and management of the fund and must prepare an investment policy statement and set the risk/returns objectives and asset allocation policies to be adopted. In fulfilling these obligations, the Corporation consults with the Superannuation Funds Management Corporation of South Australia (Funds SA). Funds SA implements the Corporation's investment policy statement and strategies as agent.

Funds SA prepares an annual Performance Plan, which outlines planned initiatives and proposed strategies.

The current Memorandum of Agreement between Funds SA and Super SA was executed in February 2022. Funds SA provides this service under legislation. The agreement is reviewed on a three yearly basis or when a significant change occurs.

^{1 Board member participation in out of session decisions made by circular resolution as defined in the Board's regulation have also been included.
2 Board members can attend any committee meeting if they wish.}

Performance at a glance

Super SA’s performance (which includes provision of administration of Super SA Select) is assessed continuously against key objectives every quarter to ensure projects and initiatives conducted throughout the year are aligned with strategy.

Over the last financial year, Super SA has delivered on a number of initiatives that focus on improving the fund’s operating model and continue to enhance services to members:

• Commenced the introduction (phase 1 of 2) of a contemporary unit pricing model in line with Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Regulatory Guide 94 Unit Pricing: Guide to good practice.
• Introduced a member experience framework to assist with member retention following the introduction of fund selection for public sector employees in 2022, which intends to further strengthen our member centric culture and practices across the business operations.
• Utilised a modern data and analytics platform to enhance decision making and member support. Data governance and data protection controls have been enhanced consistent with the SA Government Cyber Security Framework.
• Super SA has aligned itself with the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) standards, where possible. The Heads of Government Agreement on superannuation requires that we use a best endeavours approach to do so. In striving to achieve this we have undertaken:

• • • • • Ongoing development of a SPS515 Strategic Planning and Member Outcomes framework for Super SA and implemented changes to budgeting, business planning and business case preparation
        • An upgrade of the Super Stream Rollover facility to meet ATO requirements
        • Continued development of a cyber security strategy in line with the SA Government's Cyber Security Framework

Agency specific objectives and performance

	2023-24 Actual	2023-24 Target	2022-23 Actual	2022-23 Target	2021-22 Actual
Achievement of approved service level standards by 30 June each year	86%	84%	73%	90%	68%3
Benchmarking of administrative costs with industry standards4— remain in the most cost efficient quartile of industry standards* while providing additional services to members	In the most cost efficient quartile	In the most cost efficient quartile	In the most cost efficient quartile	In the most cost efficient quartile	In the most cost efficient quartile

Agency objectives	Indicators	Result
Member Centric Culture – To engage employees to deliver an efficient and member centric service	Staff culture target 70%	Achieved 74%

^{3 Service level standards were impacted across the organisation due to additional security measures applied due to the December 2021 SA Government Frontier data breach.
4 Based on last available Chant West Super Fund Fee Survey.}

Financial performance at a glance

The following is a brief summary of the overall financial position of Super SA Select. The information is unaudited. Full audited financial statements for 2023-24 are attached to this report.

The value of total assets under management at 30 June 2024 was $42.1 million, $8 million more than the $35.1 million as at 30 June 2023.

Funds under management

The comparison of the 2024 and 2023 funds under management by scheme is shown in the graph below.

 

Investment returns

The comparison of the 2024 and 2023 investment returns for Super SA Select over each investment option is shown in the graph below.

 

Other financial information

Super SA Select had 2,000 members at 30 June 2024, consisting of 1,532 active and 468 retained members (2023 membership: 735 active and 191 retained).

Member balances at 30 June 2024 were $42.1 million compared with $35.1 million as at 30 June 2023.

Other information

In establishing Super SA Select, the Southern Australian Superannuation Board agreed to provide funding of up to $500,000 from its Capital and Development Reserve account. The repayment of the loan by the Corporation from Super SA Select, together with interest, is in accordance with Schedule 2 of the Public Corporations (Southern Select Super Corporation) Regulations 2012.

Risk and audit at a glance

The Super SA Governance and Risk Team’s responsibilities include oversight of risk management, compliance, the Board’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing program, incident management and business continuity management. The Team also manage Internal Audit reviews conducted by an external provider.

Fraud detected in the agency

Category/nature of fraud	Number of instances	Financial Impact to Select ($)
Fraudulent transactions attempted by external parties on member accounts5	Nil	Nil

 

Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud

To ensure a strong control environment exists to prevent the occurrence of fraud, the Super SA Office has implemented strong monitoring and validation controls over benefit payments, including verification with members of large benefit payment requests, system based identification of unusual member account activity, validation of proof of identity prior to payment, and independent review and authorisation of all benefit payments.

Regular information is provided to the Board from internal and external audit, the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee and the Chief Executive.

The Super SA maintains the Board's Risk Management Strategy and Plan; a Business Continuity Framework and Plan; an Internal Audit Plan; a Compliance Framework and an Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Program.

Public interest disclosure ⁶

Number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018: NIL

Data for previous years is available here.

Public complaints

Number of public complaints reported

Complaint categories	Sub-categories	Example	Number of Complaints 2022-23
Professional behaviour	Staff attitude	Failure to demonstrate values such as empathy, respect, fairness, courtesy, extra mile; cultural competency	0
Professional behaviour	Staff competency	Failure to action service request; poorly informed decisions; incorrect or incomplete service provided	0
Professional behaviour	Staff knowledge	Lack of service specific knowledge; incomplete or out-of-date knowledge	0
Communication	Communication quality	Inadequate, delayed or absent communication with customer	1
Communication	Confidentiality	Customer’s confidentiality or privacy not respected; information shared incorrectly	0
Service delivery	Systems/technology	System offline; inaccessible to customer; incorrect result/information provided; poor system design	0
Service delivery	Access to services	Service difficult to find; location poor; facilities/ environment poor standard; not accessible to customers with disabilities	0
Service delivery	Process	Processing error; incorrect process used; delay in processing application; process not customer responsive	1
Policy	Policy application	Incorrect policy interpretation; incorrect policy applied; conflicting policy advice given	0
Policy	Policy content	Policy content difficult to understand; policy unreasonable or disadvantages customer	0
Service quality	Information	Incorrect, incomplete, out dated or inadequate information; not fit for purpose	0
Service quality	Access to information	Information difficult to understand, hard to find or difficult to use; not plain English	0
Service quality	Timeliness	Lack of staff punctuality; excessive waiting times (outside of service standard); timelines not met	0
Service quality	Safety	Maintenance; personal or family safety; duty of care not shown; poor security service/ premises; poor cleanliness	0
Service quality	Service responsiveness	Service design doesn’t meet customer needs; poor service fit with customer expectations	0
No case to answer	No case to answer	Third party; customer misunderstanding; redirected to another agency; insufficient information to investigate	0
		Total	2

Additional metrics	Total
Number of positive feedback comments	0
Number of negative feedback comments	0
Total number of feedback comments	0
% complaints resolved within policy timeframes	100% within 45 days (responses to complaints received in the 2023-2024 financial year)

Service improvements

N/A

Compliance statement

Super SA Select is compliant with Premier and Cabinet Circular 039 – complaint management in the South Australian public sector	Y
Super SA Select has communicated the content of PC 039 and the agency’s related complaints policies and procedures to employees.	Y

The Board has its own complaints policy, based on the timelines and processes adopted by the superannuation industry.

⁵ Fraud reported includes actual and reasonably suspected incidents of fraud.
⁶ Disclosure of public interest information was previously reported under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993 and repealed by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 on 1/7/2019.

View the Audited financial statements 2023-24