Governance

To maximise the retirement savings of our members, it's important Cbus is well governed by the Trustee.

As the Trustee of Cbus, United Super Pty Ltd holds:

A Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE) licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
An Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) issued by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)
Indemnity insurance to protect, within limits, the Trustee from legal action

The primary source of the Trustee’s power are the Trust Deed (Governing Rules) of the Fund and the Company’s Articles of Association (Constitution).

These documents sets out the rules for running the fund including how Directors are appointed and removed.

Read our Trust Deed (PDF).
Read our Constitution (PDF).

Fund Governance Framework

The Fund Governance Framework informs our day-to-day decision making at Cbus.

The framework details the activities and responsibilities of our oversight and decision-making forums, such as the Board and its Committees. It also includes key policies and procedures to guide the Trustee on how Cbus is to be managed.

With guidance from our regulators, our policies are developed in line with industry best practice.

These policies and procedures come together under the Fund Governance Policy, which provides guidance to stakeholders on the integrity of Cbus’ operations.

The Fund Governance Policy is reviewed by the Board at least once a year or as required.

Read our Fund Governance Policy (PDF).

AIST Governance Code

The following sets out Cbus’ report on compliance with the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) Governance Code requirements for the period ending 30 June 2022.

Read the AIST governance code report (PDF).

Member Outcomes Assessment

We help our members' hard work pay off in their retirement.

Financial Year ending 30 June 2023

The Construction and Building Unions Superannuation Fund (Cbus) is one of Australia’s largest super funds and the leading industry super fund in the building, construction and allied industries. We work hard to ensure our 917,027¹ members retire with the best possible outcomes. This is achieved through our history² of delivering strong long-term returns, combined with competitive fees.

Cbus has determined that each of our super products promotes the best financial interests of our members.

Read our Cbus Member Outcomes Determination for FY2023 (PDF).

Summary of the Cbus Member Outcomes Determination

Investment strategy

Cbus has achieved above median returns over the 3-, 5-, 7-, and 10-year time frames to 30 June 2023 relative to peers³ for our Growth (MySuper) and High Growth investment options.

Scale

Managing $85.3bn¹ of members’ money, our size has enabled us to deliver this outcome and take advantage of economies of scale. We offer a range of services at a competitive fee for our members.

Options, benefits and facilities

Cbus members have access to an online portal, mobile accessibility and education sessions, all supplemented by assistance through workplace coordinators, front counter offices, and over-the-phone support. We also provide advice services as part of Cbus membership.

Setting of fees

The cost of these services is competitive, headlined by our Total Fees being 0.88% for a member with a $50k balance, below the Chant West Median of 0.94%, and in the 2nd Quartile⁴ for the MySuper Product. Our Total Fees for Choice Products⁵ are also competitive.

Operating costs

We ensure our performance is sustainable. This is managed through the need to future-proof to deliver long-term solid performance whilst returning profits to our members (not shareholders).

Insurance strategy

We offer a tailored insurance product for workers in the building, construction and allied industries, across a number of different occupational categories.

Cbus’ default Death and Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance premiums are below the benchmark of 1%⁶ of salary for the average blue-collar worker in the construction industry. Cover is maximised according to members’ life stage, so it is always fit for purpose throughout our members’ journey with us.

_{1 As at 30 June 2023.}

_{2 Cbus Growth (MySuper) achieved 1st Quartile performance in the SR50 MySuper Index over the 7 and 10 year time horizons and 2nd quartile over the 3 and 5 year time horizons according to SuperRatings as at 30 June 2023.}

_{3 Sourced from SuperRatings, refer Cbus Member Outcomes Determinations for FY23 for more details.}

_{4 Data is sourced from Chant West, refer Cbus Member Outcomes Determinations for FY23 for more details.}

_{5 Data is sourced from Chant West, refer Cbus Member Outcomes Determinations for FY23 for more details.}

_{6 Data is sourced from Chant West, refer Cbus Member Outcomes Determinations for FY23 for more details.}

Register of relevant duties and relevant interests

Cbus maintains a register of duties and interests for itself, its responsible persons and associates, which includes:

all Directors of the Trustee
Company Secretary of the Trustee
all Executive Managers of the Trustee
external fund auditor
Cbus Property Pty Ltd, its Directors and officers.

This Register captures all external interests and appointments held by our Responsible Persons and Associates, providing transparency of their commercial and personal interests to our members and stakeholders.

Duties and interests will be disclosed in the register for as long as the Trustee, Responsible or Person has the relevant duty or interest. All gifts received by Directors and the Trustee above $500 in value will be included in the register for 24 months.

Read our Register of Relevant Duties and Relevant Interests (PDF).

Code of Conduct

Cbus has a Code of Conduct Policy that sets out our values, culture and expected standards of behaviour to deliver great outcomes for our members.

Read our Code of Conduct Policy (PDF).

Conflicts of interest

The Trustee has a conflicts management framework which applies across the entire Fund. The framework is a combination of systems, processes, policies and controls which enable the Trustee to identify, assess, mitigate, manage and monitor conflicts.

Read our Conflicts of Interest Policy (PDF).

Board and Committee Skills Matrix

The Board has collectively identified the series of skills required on the Board to ensure it can effectively set and execute the Trustee’s strategy.

These skills have been captured in our Skills Matrix and the results of the Directors self-assessment is below.

There are certain skills that are required only at a Committee level, these skills are more technical and are required to ensure the Committee can effectively discharge its delegated duties from the Board, all other skills are required at the Board level. The boxes that are shaded in grey indicate that those skills are not relevant for that particular Committee.

The Directors are required to assess their skills against the Skills Matrix upon appointment and annually as part of the Fit and Proper process.

The Skills Matrix will be reviewed annually by the Board to ensure the skills remain relevant.

The Board Skills Matrix 2021 can be found here. Please note, this Board Skills Matrix will be refreshed in 2023.

View the 2023 Collective Board Skills results, which shows the actual skills of the Board benchmarked against the desired state in our Board Skills Matrix.

Board Performance

The Director Appointment, Performance and Renewal Policy sets out procedures with regard to annually evaluating the Board performance and individual director performance.

In accordance with the Director Appointment, Performance and Renewal Policy, the Company Secretariat is responsible for ensuring that the Board performance assessment (individual and collective) takes place annually. Regular assessment of Board performance supports:

Improving the effectiveness of the Board to achieve objectives
Identifying any areas for improvement
Clarifying individual and group roles.

The assessment encompasses the Board as a whole, Board Committees, individual Directors, Committee Chairs and the Board Chair. A record of the assessment is maintained by the Company Secretariat.

Triennial independent performance reviews of the Board, Directors and Fund Chair occur every three years. Every three years, the Company Secretariat will arrange for the annual, ‘whole of board’ performance assessment to be completed by an external specialist. The external specialist will obtain whole of Board feedback and, to assist in ongoing annual assessments of the Chair's performance and effectiveness, provide this feedback to both the Chair and to the other Directors.

Product dashboard

The Cbus superannuation product dashboard is set out to help you better understand the fees, risks and performance for our default investment option, Growth (Cbus MySuper).

You can use the dashboard to compare the Growth (Cbus MySuper) investment option with MySuper products offered by other funds.

See our product dashboard.

Remuneration

Our remuneration practices reflect our core values, placing our members at the centre of all we do.

The way we resource Cbus provides quality products and services to members.

Our Remuneration Policy outlines our principles and remuneration arrangements.

Significant event notices

We have a responsibility to tell our members about material changes to our products, especially if it could impact their retirement savings. We usually communicate these through our newsletters or directly to members, but you can also find a copy of these notices here.

Read the latest notices