APRA increases transparency of super fund expenses

The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) has released its inaugural publication of the fund level data on expenditure covering a broad range of categories, including investment-related expenses, as well as administration and other expenditure, such as advertising, sponsorship and payments to industrial bodies. 

The publication of this data was foreshadowed in a letter¹ released to superannuation trustees on 22 October 2024 which also outlined APRA’s intensified supervision of fund level expenditure. The letter notes that APRA will take a targeted approach in relation to expenditure, partly informed by the new fund level data on expenditure.

The expenditure data for financial year 2022-23 is released as supplementary tables to the following publications: 

• Fund-level expenses adding to the Annual Fund Level Superannuation Statistics.
• Aggregate expenses adding to the Annual Superannuation Bulletin.

The fund-level expenditure data will be published annually with data for the financial year 2023-24, to be released in early 2025.