Employee onboarding tools run by large software providers currently sit at the centre of the new-starter process, guiding workers as they choose where their super contributions go, but a recent shift in regulation looks set to strip these platforms of a lucrative revenue stream and reshape how super funds get in front of new employees.
For years some of the country’s biggest retirement funds have paid onboarding platforms for premium placement on the screens workers see when they join a new employer or switch jobs. In 2023 four large superannuation funds together paid close to $11 million to two major platforms for this visibility, turning what looks like an admin step into a powerful marketing channel in the super industry.
Regulators and consumer groups have become increasingly uneasy about this model, arguing that mixing financial product advertising with mandatory employment paperwork can nudge people into decisions they do not fully understand. A Treasury review in 2023 concluded that these arrangements risk steering workers toward unsuitable super products, encourage duplicate accounts and add unnecessary fees over a lifetime, prompting policymakers to tighten the rules.
Under laws that passed parliament recently, onboarding platforms will be barred from advertising or displaying any super funds to new employees other than the default fund for that workplace or industry, unless the tax authority can match that worker to an existing stapled super account. This looks likely to reduce promotional opportunities for big funds and revenue for platforms, but it also seems poised to deliver a cleaner, less conflicted sign-up process that could cut down on multiple accounts and align more closely with the long-term interests of super fund members.
