The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has published a speech delivered this afternoon by Deputy Chair David Bradbury to the 2026 FSC Retirement Summit in Sydney.
In "Building trust and confidence to deliver on the promise of super", Mr Bradbury shared some of his initial observations and insights about the industry and APRA's approach to supervising it since joining APRA in September.
His remarks included:
- "In just a few decades, Australia has built one of the largest retirement savings systems in the world and - on current projections - is on track to become the world's second-largest pension market.
This should make us proud, especially those of you who have contributed directly to this success. But we cannot afford to be complacent. As you all know, past performance is no guarantee of future success."
- "Over the next decade, around 2.5 million Australians are expected to make the transition into retirement. This is not simply a demographic shift, but will represent a fundamental change in what millions of Australians need from their superannuation fund. This is where the rubber hits the road. Making sure that we are able to match the success of what has been achieved in accumulation in the retirement phase will be a crucial test of whether the great promise of our system can be realised."
- "The risks that keep me awake at night are those that have the potential to threaten financial stability or lead to catastrophic losses for members. Consider a scenario where a series of threats converge. For example, a cyber vulnerability, combined with increasingly sophisticated AI-enabled attack, could create a pathway for criminals or a malicious foreign actor to reach directly into the retirement savings of ordinary Australians."
- "Despite APRA's extensive supervisory and enforcement activity, material weaknesses in trustees' investment governance practices remain and that is why APRA is proposing to strengthen trustee accountability and help ensure members' interests remain at the centre of investment decisions."
The full speech is available at: APRA Deputy Chair David Bradbury's speech to the 2026 FSC Retirement Summit, "Building trust and confidence to deliver on the promise of super"
