Significant event notices

On 2 July, we're making some important fee changes:

• Your weekly administration fee will drop to $1.50 a week.
• The cost of insurance cover is changing for some members.

On 2 July, we're making some important fee changes:

• Your weekly administration fee will drop to $1.50 a week.
• The risk rating of insurance cover is changing for some members.

Notice for Corporate Super members - Sarah Group (PDF)

Notice for Corporate Super members – AME Systems (PDF)

On 2 July, we're making some important fee changes:

• Your weekly administration fee will drop to $1.50 a week.
• The cost of insurance cover is changing for some members.

On 14 February 2022, Cbus introduced six new investment options.

On 24 December 2021, amendments to the Cbus Trust Deed became effective that allow the Cbus trustee to take a trustee services fee (subject to certain restrictions) from the fund.

We regularly review the insurance you get through Cbus to make sure you and your family are protected when you need it most.

From 2 October 2021, we’re making some important changes to:

• the cost of death and total and permanent disablement insurance cover, and
• income protection cover.

Notice for members in a manual occupation category (PDF)

Notice for members in an electech occupation category (PDF)

Notice for members in a non-manual or professional occupation category (PDF)

Notice for other super account holders (PDF)

We regularly review our products to make sure they continue to meet the changing needs of our members, and have made the following insurance updates from 1 April 2020:

• The cost of death and TPD insurance cover will increase.
• Workers in Manual occupations aged 51 and over will receive more cover.
• Members will be able to select more TPD cover than death cover.
• The accident only income protection cover option will be removed for Sole Trader Super members.

The following changes were also introduced on 1 February:

• Death cover will be provided for members who are diagnosed with a terminal illness within 14 days of the insurer making a TPD payment.
• The definitions used to assess TPD claims has been updated.

Notice for Industry Super members and Personal Super members (PDF)

Notice for Sole Trader Super members (PDF)

The Government has changed the laws that apply to automatic insurance in super, which is the death and disability cover most members receive when they join Cbus.

If you’re impacted by these changes, from 1 April 2020 unless you specifically choose to have insurance you generally won’t receive automatic cover until:

• your account balance reaches $6,000, and
• you’ve turned 25 years old.

Each year, we review the objectives and strategies of the investment options you can invest your account balance in. As a result of the 2019 review, we will be making some changes in 2020 for both super and income stream accounts.

From 1 February 2020, the investment objectives of some of our options has changed. For some options, the return objective will be lowered slightly. There will also be a small increase in the likelihood of negative returns for some of our diversified investment options.

There are also changes to the strategic asset allocations for the diversified options that will be progressively implemented over the first half of 2020. 

Effective 2 December 2019, Cbus has introduced a tax refund for members who transfer their account from a Cbus super or a TTR income stream to a Fully Retired income stream.

Cbus keeps some money aside to pay the capital gains tax that comes due when any super investments are sold. Because a super income stream is tax free, Cbus will refund that money back to eligible members who open a Fully Retired income stream account.

From 1 February 2020 the administration fees charged for both super and income stream accounts are changing.

If you’re a super account holder your account keeping fee will rise from $1.50 to $2 a week. The Trustee operating cost for 2019/20 has also risen to 0.19%.

If you’re an income stream account holder:

• your account keeping fee will be kept at $104 a year ($2 a week)
• you’ll no longer be charged the 0.08% asset-based account keeping fee, and
• the Trustee operating cost will increase to 0.19%.

The Trustee operating cost will be capped at $1,000 for all accounts.

Notice for super members - Your fees are changing (PDF)

Notice for income stream members - Your fees are changing (PDF)

The Australian Government has introduced new rules and regulations for super effective 1 July 2019 which may affect your account with Cbus. These changes include:

• inactive low account balance transfers
• fee cap and refund
• exit fees abolished
• opt in to retain your insurance through Cbus.

Notice for super members - Important changes to your super from 1 July 2019 (PDF)

Notice for Super Income Stream members - important changes to your super from 1 July 2019 (PDF)

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (one of the super industry regulators) has introduced new rules for all super funds to make fees clearer from 30 September 2017.

These changes don’t affect the actual return you receive from Cbus – they represent the different fees that already apply to your super account.

Notice for super members - Changing how fees and costs are communicated (PDF)

Notice for income stream members - Changing how fees and costs are communicated (PDF)

From 30 September 2017, a number of improvements are being made to insurance which will see most members’ premiums decrease and some members receive more cover.

Changes include:

• a 40% decrease in TPD premiums for manual workers and a 44% decrease for non-manual and professional workers
• a 25% decrease in the combined cost of death and TPD cover, taking the cost of a unit of cover from $3.58 to $2.68 a week
• more TPD cover per unit for manual workers aged under 45, and
• a 44% decrease in the cost of accident only IP cover for sole traders. 

Investment earnings on all income stream accounts are currently tax free, but from 1 July 2017 these will be taxed at up to 15% for transition to retirement income streams. This tax doesn’t apply to the Fully Retired option.

On 1 July 2017 money in existing Transition to Retirement accounts will be transferred to new taxed investment options. These will be the same range of investment options, with minor changes to allow for the tax.

Notice for Transition to Retirement option members not invested in Cbus Self Managed (PDF)

Notice for Transition to Retirement option members invested in Cbus Self Managed (PDF)

Notice for Fully Retired option members - Important changes to your income stream accounts from 1 July 2017 (PDF)

The Cbus Self Managed investment option will not be available to members in the Transition to Retirement option from 16 June 2017.

Members affected by this change will need to change the way they invest the money they currently have in Cbus Self Managed assets.

The Government has limited the amount of super you can have in tax-free retirement accounts (like the Fully Retired option) to $1.6 million from 1 July 2017. This is called your transfer balance cap and will be indexed in future years.

This is the limit across all of your retirement income accounts – with Cbus and any other super funds.

Tax penalties apply if you exceed the cap from 1 July 2017 and any amount over the limit will need to be withdrawn or transferred to a super account.

This limit doesn’t apply to the Transition to Retirement option.

The Trustee Operating Cost (TOC) charged for all income stream accounts will increase by an estimated 0.04% per year from 1 July 2017 – to a total of 0.07% per year.

This cost forms part of the indirect cost ratio for each of the standard Cbus investment options and the asset based fees for the Cbus Self Managed option.

The TOC is reviewed each year and can range up to 0.25% per year.

From May 2016, the frequency of the administration fees deducted from the member's account at the end of each financial year or earlier (if the member closes their account during the year) will instead be deducted on a monthly basis.  

The same administration rates apply for member's super and Income stream account.  However the 0.08% of account balance for Cbus Super Income Stream (up to $640) will now be calculated based on the number of days in the month.

From 1 November 2015, TAL Life Ltd (TAL) has been appointed as the new insurer after a successful tender process.

Other changes include:

• TPD cover extend to age 70 years to eligible members
• introduction of Professional category for insurance
• introduction of underwriting exclusions
• changes to automatic cancellation of cover terms
• no default cover offered for members of Cbus Personal Super division
• changes to the insurance terms and conditions to Cbus Personal Super division members.