South Australia’s 200,000-plus past and present public servants will now be able to select a superannuation fund of their own choosing after new laws were passed by Parliament.

SA-BEST MLC Connie Bonaros – who was the genesis of the new legislation after introducing a Private Members Bill in 2018 – says she was delighted the state government agreed to have carriage of the complex legislation which helped secure its successful introduction.

The new legislation ends the monopoly enjoyed by the state-owned SA Super superannuation business and gives public servants the ability to select a super fund of their own.

Under the previous Superannuation Act, it was compulsory for all people employed by the South Australian government to have their superannuation contributions paid into accounts with SA Super.

SA was the only state in Australia where its entire public sector workforce was forced to join the government owned superannuation fund.

“These new laws are nothing more than common sense and finally bring South Australia into line with the rest of the country,” Connie Bonaros says.

“Compulsory superannuation has been around for about 25 years, and in that time many South Australians have been forced to keep their money in a specified state-owned fund - even where they might have wanted to change funds or put their money into a self-managed super fund,” she says.

“In reality, the new laws should have been introduced years ago but that said I am pleased the government – driven by Treasurer Lucas – agreed with me that the legislation was long overdue and offered to lead the charge given the complexities involved in the legislation.

“I commend the Treasurer for his commitment to seeing this through to the end, as well as the SA Super Board for the diligent work it did behind the scenes to ensure these new laws came to fruition.”

She says an efficient and healthy superannuation system is one of the critical principles in helping Australia meet the economic and fiscal challenges of an ageing population.

The country’s superannuation pool has accumulated over $2 trillion in assets under management. SA Super has more than $24 billion in total assets under management.