The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) today commended trustees of entities regulated under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 for their vastly improved performance in lodging compulsory Annual Returns for the 2001/02 financial year.

APRA Executive General Manager, Mr Charles Littrell said that as at 1 November, the regulator had received 9,088 superannuation returns for the 2001/02 financial year.

"This represents 82 per cent of all expected returns," he said. "Last year, the equivalent figure was 71 per cent and, in 2000, prior to our increased focus on compliance, the percentage of returns was only 17 per cent. This shows a marked turnaround by industry."

"APRA relies on the information provided in the lodgements to make assessments about the health of the industry and, more importantly, to supervise funds effectively for the benefit of their members," Mr Littrell said.

He added that while the industry had outperformed previous years, the outcome was still not optimal with 1,876 expected returns outstanding.

The improvement in lodgement comes after APRA warned industry late last month to ensure that annual returns were lodged within the prescribed period or it would consider referring the matter to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). APRA has referred a number of superannuation entities to the DPP for the non-lodgement of 2000/01 returns.

APRA has significantly increased the intensity of supervision and enforcement activities during the four years since its formation with a particular focus on superannuation over the past twelve months.

"The on-going chasing and enforcement of lodgements is part of an industry project that aims to take appropriate action against all non-lodgers and to clean-up the register of superannuation entities that no longer exist."

Information on lodging Annual Returns is included at the APRA Website on www.apra.gov.au or by contacting the APRA Call Centre on 1300 13 10 60.

APRA is the prudential regulator of the financial services industry including banks, credit unions, building societies, general insurance and reinsurance companies, life insurance, friendly societies, and most members of the superannuation industry. It currently regulates $1.5 trillion in assets for 20 million Australians.