"Like telling the Matildas they can only win by three goals": why we need to adjust the superannuation performance test. Read the full statement here.

“I’m thrilled to read that the Treasurer is considering adjustments to the superannuation performance test. The test was designed to protect members and weed out underperforming funds.

But in its current form, it is holding back the very investments Australia needs to retool our economy for the future. The rules mean your super can’t grow as much as it could - it’s like telling the Matildas they can only win by three goals.

Infrastructure assets of the future - solar farms, large-scale batteries, and other lowcarbon projects - have very different CapEx and OpEx profiles from the toll roads and airports that the current benchmark represents. High upfront capital costs and low ongoing operating costs make these long-term investments struggle to meet short-term benchmarks. The current benchmark is not fit for purpose.

We’ll never be able to clear the hurdle with yesteryear’s benchmark, and that prevents super funds from unlocking the private capital that could do the heavy lifting for affordable housing, clean energy, and productive infrastructure.

Superannuation is the only place in the economy where long-term thinking is obligated. Trustees invest not just for retirees today, but for 16-year-olds starting their first job - ensuring they too can retire with dignity. Every day the current rules are in place, these investments are delayed, and Australians pay the price in higher housing costs, slower clean energy deployment, and reduced productivity.

Minor, responsible changes would allow super funds to invest confidently in tomorrow’s economy while still protecting members’ returns today. This is our chance to retool the economy to be low-carbon, internationally competitive, and productive for decades to come.

I speak from experience: I’ve spent over three decades working across finance and clean energy - on the buy side, sell side, with fund managers, financial advisors, and asset owners, like super funds. I know how outdated rules and short-term benchmarks slow investment in the infrastructure and clean energy projects Australia needs.

With the stroke of a pen, this roadblock could be removed, freeing billions in private capital, supporting projects governments alone cannot fully fund, while helping to balance the budget.”