Rest Early Release Payments Update

Industry superannuation fund Rest had paid 100,385 members $693.4 million as part of the Government’s temporary early release of super scheme – an average of 12,500 payments or $90 million per business day – as at 9am Wednesday, 6 May.
 
There are a further 15,184 applications worth $104 million currently being processed and the vast majority are expected to be completed within a five-day period.
 
This means that about 95 per cent of all applications received so far have either been completed already, or will be completed within the coming five business days.
 
The money will reach our members depending on how quickly their bank or credit union can process the payment. 
 
In total, Rest had received 122,294 applications from the ATO at combined value of $874 million.
 
Payments to Rest members effectively started from Saturday, 25 April 2020 after Rest received the first applications from the ATO on 21 April.
 
“About three per cent of all applications – 4,440 – have been flagged for extra verification as part of the processes we have in place to keep members’ money safe from fraud and money laundering,” said Rest CEO Vicki Doyle.
 
“These applications will likely extend beyond the five-day period and we know that this will be frustrating for these members.
 
“Many of these members are in a desperate situation, and we are determined to make sure these applications are finalised as quickly as possible. We have a dedicated team reviewing these applications every day and we are always looking for ways we can speed up our processes.
 
“However, Rest has a clear obligation to our members to ensure all these payments are legitimate. We take our responsibilities to protect our members from fraud and money laundering very seriously.
 
“We have already identified and stopped a number of attempt fraudulent applications.”
 
Under the existing financial hardship and compassionate grounds provisions, Rest would typically receive about 100 applications per week. In the first week of the early release scheme, we received around 65,000 applications.
 
“When you consider that we, and our administrator AAS, have had around four weeks to boost our capacity so we can handle an increase from 100 to 65,000 applications per week, I’m pleased we’ve been able to average 12,000 payments per business day,” said Ms Doyle.
 
“When you have 650 times more requests, you have a heightened risk of fraud. We must be vigilant to this.
 
“Superannuation funds are targeted by criminal organisations and individuals looking to make fraudulent withdrawal attempts. Ultimately, our members will bear the cost of successful fraud attempts, so it’s critical we apply an appropriate level of security checks to transactions.”
 
The total number of applications Rest has received from the ATO so far is significantly below the fund’s forecasts before the scheme began. The average number of applications received per day is trending down.
 
Rest remains comfortably placed to meet payment requests to members should they increase in the future. The fund is also well placed to pursue value on behalf our members in investment markets, whether it be in shares, unlisted assets like property and infrastructure, or other asset classes.

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