Latest news with #HESTA
AU Financial Review
24-07-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Brandon Capital defies VC funding drought to close $439m biotech fund
Biotech investor Brandon Capital has closed the largest venture capital fund of the year, after the federal government's National Reconstruction Fund tipped $150 million into its sixth fund to keep more of Australia's medical start-ups onshore. Brandon Capital, Australia's biggest life science investment fund, has banked $439 million for the fund, known as Brandon Biocatalyst 6, after securing commitments from some of Australia's largest institutional investors including superannuation funds HESTA and Hostplus, and biotech giant CSL.
ABC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
HESTA denies 'systemic issue' as some members can't access their money
HESTA's chief operating officer, Stephen Reilly says most super fund members can access their money and there is "no systemic issue".
ABC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
HESTA executive says super fund's operations 'normal', despite outrage from members and advocates
One of HESTA's top executives says most of its 1 million members are able to access their superannuation, despite some members reporting ongoing delays and problems. The super fund's chief operating officer Stephen Reilly acknowledged some members are struggling to access their money, but said it was not the case for most. HESTA, one of Australia's largest superannuation funds, went offline at the start of April in a planned outage affecting more than 1 million Australians. The industry super fund was changing its administration provider, which it said would provide a better outcome for members, and first notified customers in February. Despite the fund returning online at the start of June, dozens of members have since contacted the ABC, distressed they still cannot access their money. In an interview with The Business, Mr Reilly acknowledged delays in the contact centre and long wait times but said there was "no systemic issue". "This is a case by case basis, most members are able to access whatever it is they need to do," he said. "We've been able to process over $800 million worth of payments. We've got a quarter of a million people accessing online. These sorts of numbers tell us that the system is working. "I do acknowledge we've had some members who've had some issues and those are case by case. I apologise to each and every one of those but we just have to work through them case by case." While Mr Reilly offered assurances of no systemic issue, a HESTA spokesperson later confirmed that the changeover to a new administrator had led to problems with some members receiving their super contributions. HESTA member Carol Varenhout contacted ABC News after failing to get onto the fund about missing contributions in her account. Ms Varenhout has been salary sacrificing part of her pay into her retirement savings each fortnight — something she has been doing for years. Records showed the money should have been processed into her super account, but when she emailed HESTA, she got no response and after waiting on hold on the phone, she hung up. In response to questions about Ms Varenhout's missing contributions, a HESTA spokesperson said that in a "small number of cases", super contributions had been misdirected to the fund's old administrator, attributing the problem to third parties. "Prior to the transition we had informed employers of our administrator's new banking details. Some employers use remittance agencies to handle payment of super contributions," the HESTA spokesperson said. "In a small number of cases, these banking details were not updated by an agency, with contributions paid into an account at our previous administrator. "Our team has been working with employers, relevant agencies and our current and former administrators to ensure the use of current bank details, and to allocate these contributions. The spokesperson said HESTA had reached out to Ms Varenhout to resolve her issue. "They need to make full disclosure for why this is happening and how widespread it is," Ms Varenhout said. Dozens of Australians have contacted the ABC since the start of the planned outage, distressed and concerned about when they will receive their funds, with many feeling financial and emotional hardship. Super Consumers Australia chief executive Xavier O'Halloran has described HESTA's response to the outage as "appalling". Helen Triggell has been waiting on her money from HESTA for more than two months, after putting in a withdrawal application at the start of May. "I've understood there's a lot of people waiting, but now that time's gone by, I'm starting to panic … because I would have liked this [to be] done with." The aged care worker from Bega, NSW applied for a lump sum of her retirement savings to finalise her mortgage. Despite contacting HESTA several times, the super fund did not respond to her emails and after waiting on hold for long periods, she gave up. "You put your trust in them and being with them all these years … it would be nice to hear from them to let me know how things are going and maybe when I will get it." Ms Triggell said she is nearing retirement and was hoping to cut back a day of work as she starts this transition. "I was hoping to have dropped a day by now but it looks like it's not going to happen until I get my money," she said. A HESTA spokesperson said the fund would contact Ms Triggell to resolve her issue, after ABC News made it aware of her case. In response to questions about the HESTA planned outage and the ongoing issues facing some members, Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino said "it is crucial that superannuation members have appropriate access to funds and services". "I would expect the relevant regulators are looking closely at this matter. "Improving service for members is important. While most funds offer services that meet or often surpass community expectations, there have been some areas where some funds have fallen short." A spokesperson for corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, has said "ASIC is aware of the situation and is considering its regulatory response". Mr O'Halloran told ABC News he met with HESTA executives early this week, and was informed the super fund is still behind on processing claims. "They indicated they think they're still another two weeks before they get out of the woods on this one," he said. "They told us they've brought on another 50 staff for their customer service lines to help meet that resourcing gap. Mr O'Halloran said multiple executives from HESTA have told him the super fund has struggled to meet the demand from its members. "We know that they're under resourced and that they weren't able to pick up calls in timely ways, and they're still struggling with that today. Mr O'Halloran said he has also spoken to multiple members of HESTA who have lost money through this process. "People who have lost money as a result, waiting for property transactions to go through, had to get bridging finance in order to cover the cost because they can't draw down their money from their superannuation account." He urged anyone in this position to contact the super fund and if the response is unsatisfactory, consider complaining to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). "We know that they are looking at those cases and considering whether compensation is appropriate — if you're not happy with the response you get, escalate it." HESTA's Stephen Reilly told The Business there is a "complaints or compensation process that members can apply to and we'll work through those on a case by case basis". You can watch the full interview with HESTA's chief operating officer Stephen Reilly on The Business tonight at 8:45pm AEST on ABC News or on iView.
ABC News
23-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
HESTA member couldn't access super for surgery due to fund outage, dozens report ongoing issues
Despite normal services resuming three weeks ago, dozens of HESTA superannuation members have contacted ABC News, distressed and frustrated they are still unable to access their own super funds. HESTA, one of Australia's largest super funds with more than 1 million members, went offline at the end of April for a seven-week planned outage, as the fund changed administration providers. Despite the outage ending at the start of June, members have reported that their applications to withdraw funds have still not been processed, while wait times on the phone can be up to three hours. Judy Flynn said she put in an application at the end of April to withdraw funds for a surgery. "I then sent an email saying, 'look, I have a medical appointment coming up, it's urgent, I've been waiting four months for this, can you please process this $2,000 for me?'" But she said she got no response from HESTA, and eventually needed to postpone her surgery, which was meant to be on the June 10. HESTA had told ABC News that members could "still receive urgent and critical payments" during the period of limited services. "I hadn't heard a thing, no response at all … and I tried to get through to them a couple of times on the phone and I couldn't get through without waiting for a long period. "It's very stressful … I'm really angry that they've done this to me," Ms Flynn said. Ms Flynn, who lives on the South Coast of New South Wales, said she recently separated from her husband and has had to borrow money from him to pay for things like utility bills and council rates. "He's been good about it, but he's in debt to loan me money. It's not like he has money stocked away, we're borrowing to get me out of this hot water." On Thursday last week, Ms Flynn was finally able to speak to someone at HESTA who processed her application, stating it should take three to five days to land in her account. On Sunday, she said HESTA notified her that the money had been transferred, about two months after her initial application was made. HESTA has apologised to Ms Flynn, stating its level of service was not acceptable. In a response to the ABC, a spokesperson for HESTA said: "While we resumed online services as scheduled and many members are transacting as normal, we recognise some members have experienced long call wait times and processing delays. Personal finance researcher at Griffith University Whitley Bejah said the extended period of time offline means HESTA has failed in its duty of care to customers. "Let's say someone's been waiting since the first week of the HESTA shutdown to be able to make this claim… now [it's] 10 weeks with no income. "I think that would be very, very stressful from a consumer's perspective." She doesn't think the super fund prepared properly for the influx of applications it would experience from members after the outage. "I understand that the process is really cumbersome and they want to make sure that they get everything right because there are obviously reporting issues … but given everything that people have been through, you think that they would be a little bit more prepared. Ms Bejah said the "additional delay" is causing unnecessary stress for many people right now. "Australians [are] dealing with a lot at the moment, especially with the cost of living, and I think when there's a barrier between people and accessing their own funds that they might need for medical considerations … or they might be dealing with severe financial hardship. "It's a compounding effect that's going to affect a whole range of things, not just finances." The spokesperson for HESTA said: "We have substantially increased the size of our contact centre team and operating hours have been extended to include temporary operation on Saturdays. Amanda Lewis recently went into a dementia ward at a nursing home in Victoria and has been relying on her superannuation to pay for it. Her husband Glynn has been acting as her carer because her short-term memory and some of her long-term memory have been affected by the disease. He said on May 22, he and his financial adviser put in an application to withdraw all of Ms Lewis's superannuation. But almost a month later, none of it has been processed into her account. "I'm sort of still in limbo … it is a little bit up in the air, hopefully HESTA come good with the finances," he told ABC News. "Hopefully we can get back to a better financial situation." While his financial advisor has lodged a complaint with HESTA, he has concerns that if he doesn't get access to the funds soon, he will have to use his own super to pay the deposit, or risk his wife losing her spot at the facility. The spokesperson for HESTA said: "We apologise to the member and her husband who have not received the service they should expect from us. HESTA isn't the first superannuation fund to have complaints raised against it this year. The spotlight was thrown on the sector in April, when AustralianSuper, Rest, Hostplus, Insignia and Australian Retirement Trust were impacted by a slew of cyber incidents. AustralianSuper was questioned by its own clients about a security weakness in its accounts, before cybercriminals stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of members' retirement savings. Customers told ABC News they had asked for multi-factor authentication (MFA) on their accounts but were rebuffed — one of them just weeks before the cyber attacks. Subsequently, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) wrote to all registrable superannuation entities earlier this month, reinforcing expectations around information security and the implementation of robust authentication controls. "This action follows recent credential stuffing attacks that exposed persistent weaknesses in authentication practices across the superannuation industry," the APRA statement read. The regulator has advised all super funds to ensure MFA or equivalent protections are in place for high-risk activities no later than August 31 this year. Separately, the corporate watchdog has called on super funds to overhaul the way they deal with death benefit claims, noting excessive delays, poor customer service and ineffective claims handling are leaving Australians worse off at some of the most vulnerable times of their lives, in a scathing report issued in March.
Barnama
12-06-2025
- Business
- Barnama
Heitman Secures HESTA Investment For European Alternative Real Estate
BUSINESS KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- Heitman LLC (Heitman), a global real estate investment management firm, has announced an allocation from HESTA to invest in European alternative property types, including self-storage, student housing, residential, and health care. Heitman in a statement said this investment establishes the company as one of HESTA's largest international property investment managers. 'Unlike the traditional property types, the alternative sectors are driven by needs-based demand and are undersupplied, making them less tied to economic cycles. 'We believe this makes them an attractive way to benefit from the price reductions available in Europe whilst mitigating exposure to uncertain economic conditions,' said Heitman Managing Director, European Real Estate Investment, Caleb Mercer. Meanwhile, HESTA Head of Portfolio Management, Jeff Brunton said: 'The new allocation with Heitman will support us to continue to build a well-diversified portfolio of property investments designed to help deliver strong long-term returns for our more than one million members.' With over one million members and approximately AUD$93 billion of funds under management, HESTA is one of Australia's largest superannuation funds dedicated to health and community services. (AUD$1 = RM2.74) HESTA is an existing investor with Heitman through its United States core investment strategy. HESTA's new investment adds to Heitman's footprint in Australia, with Heitman currently managing AUD$8.4 billion across real estate equity and debt strategies. Founded in 1966 and globally headquartered in Chicago, with European headquarters in London, Heitman has 10 offices worldwide and is an active participant in the global real estate property and capital markets. -- BERNAMA
