Southwell v Equity Trustees Limited

In the Federal Court of Australia, the appellants, Mr and Mrs Southwell, challenged a decision of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) concerning a superannuation fund. The Tribunal had substituted its own decision for that of the trustee, Equity Trustees Limited, in relation to the Southwells' complaint that the trustee had failed to process their requests to switch investment options and had not advised them of increased fees. The primary legal issues were whether the SCT had denied procedural fairness by not allowing an oral hearing, whether the SCT had failed to take into account relevant considerations, whether it had failed to make necessary findings of fact, and whether it had erred in not finding that the trustee's decision was vitiated by a failure to comply with its own published standards.

The Court held that the SCT had not erred in declining to hold an oral hearing, as the SCT was entitled to decide the case on the papers. While the SCT was required to give the Southwells an opportunity to make submissions in response to the trustee's submissions, it was not required to hold an oral hearing. The Court found that the SCT had considered relevant material and had not failed to make necessary findings of fact. The Court found that the SCT had erred in not considering whether the trustee's failure to comply with its own published standards invalidated its subsequent conduct. However, given that the Court found that the SCT's decision was correct in any event, the error did not affect the outcome.

The Court dismissed Mr Southwell's appeal and allowed Mrs Southwell's appeal. The matter was remitted to the SCT to determine, according to law, the decision it will substitute for the decision of Equity Trustees Limited. The parties were to file agreed short minutes of order with respect to costs by 12 June 2015 or, failing agreement, the parties might file by that date submissions of no longer than three pages each concerning the orders they seek as to costs.