The corporate regulator is suing AustralianSuper over delayed death benefits. What it means if you are waiting on a claim

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is suing AustralianSuper, the country's largest superannuation (super) fund, over how long it took to pay death benefits.

ASIC alleges that at least 6,897 death benefit claims were delayed between 1 July 2019 and 18 October 2024, and that in at least 752 of those cases the fund did not pay the benefit as soon as practicable after a member died.

These are allegations. The case is before the Federal Court and nothing has been proven. This article reports ASIC's filing as announced on 12 March 2025, and was first published on 19 March 2025.

Where the case is up to: ASIC filed its Statement of Claim on 30 May 2025. According to the editor's notes on ASIC's media release 25-034MR, a penalty hearing listed for 9 September 2026 was adjourned until 18 December 2026. As at 9 November 2026, the release records no penalty or other outcome, and the matter is still before the Federal Court. ASIC is seeking penalties, declarations, an adverse publicity order and orders for compliance measures to be put in place. We keep a fuller status page at where the AustralianSuper case stands.

The key numbers, as alleged by ASIC

• 6,897 death benefit claims that allegedly took between four months and four years to assess
• 752 members whose benefits were allegedly not paid as soon as practicable
• 1,140 days: the longest alleged delay in making a payment, in a case where ASIC says the fund already had everything it needed to pay. ASIC also points to delays of 438, 412 and 366 days.

Source: ASIC media release 25-034MR, 12 March 2025. All figures are allegations before the Federal Court, not findings.

What ASIC alleges

ASIC's case says that in the affected claims, between four months and four years passed from when a member's family returned the claim form to when AustralianSuper assessed it.

Separately, ASIC alleges the fund failed to pay benefits as soon as practicable after a member died. In one case, ASIC says, the fund had all the information it needed to pay the benefit and still took 1,140 days to make the payment. Other payments allegedly took 438, 412 and 366 days.

In 254 cases, ASIC alleges it took the fund between 15 and 213 days just to provide the claim form in the first place.

AustralianSuper manages more than $355 billion for 3.49 million members. ASIC also noted that the fund accounted for nearly a quarter of all death benefit complaints made to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) across 2022/23 and 2023/24 (ASIC media release 25-034MR).

What a death benefit is, and why timing matters

When a super member dies, their super balance, plus any life insurance attached to the account, is paid to their beneficiaries or dependants. That payment is called a death benefit. Trustees are legally required to pay it as soon as practicable.

ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said delays add pain and anxiety for people who are already grieving. She also made the point that a trustee stays responsible for claims handling even when the work is outsourced to an administrator: "Accountability cannot be outsourced" (ASIC media release 25-034MR).

This follows a separate $27 million penalty

Weeks before this case was filed, in February 2025, the Federal Court ordered the same fund to pay a $27 million penalty over a separate failure: not identifying and merging members' duplicate accounts (ASIC media release 25-017MR, 21 February 2025). We cover that case separately in AustralianSuper fined $27 million over duplicate accounts.

If your family is waiting on a death benefit

Waiting on a death benefit while you are grieving is hard, and the wait is rarely explained from the fund's side. These are allegations, not findings, but the case is a reminder that death benefit claims can stall even at the largest funds, and that the delay is not a reflection on you or your claim.

If a claim has gone quiet, you are allowed to ask where it is up to. Some things that can help:

• Keeping a record of when claim forms were requested and returned. Dates matter if you complain later.
• Asking the fund, in writing, what stage the claim is at and what it is still waiting on.
• Checking the fund has everything it needs to start assessing. Some delays come down to a form that was never sent.
• If nothing moves, the fund's internal complaints process is the first step, then AFCA, which is free to use.
• If the wait is causing financial hardship, telling the fund. Depending on the fund and the policy, there may be options while a claim is assessed.

ClaimsGuide does not run claims or assess anyone's entitlements. We explain how the system works, in plain English, and connect people with specialist firms when that would help.

If you want to talk any of this through, we'll explain which doors exist for your situation and, if you want, introduce you to a firm on our panel. It costs you nothing.

Sources

• ASIC media release 25-034MR, "ASIC sues AustralianSuper alleging significant death benefit claims failures", 12 March 2025, including the editor's note on the progress of the proceeding.
• ASIC media release 25-017MR, "AustralianSuper fined $27 million after ASIC investigation into failing to merge multiple superannuation accounts", 21 February 2025.