Is Your Super Fund Underperforming? How to Check & Switch (2026)

Every year, Australia’s super regulator puts hundreds of super products through a performance test. The 2026 results named 12 products that failed — including, for the first time since 2023, a MySuper default product. If you’re wondering whether your own fund is one of the shaky ones, this guide shows you how to check in a few minutes, what a failure actually means, and how to switch funds step by step.

What APRA’s 2026 test found

APRA (the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) released the 2026 annual performance test results on 28 August 2026. The test has run since 2021. This year it assessed 547 superannuation products, covering 61 per cent of APRA-regulated member benefits.

Twelve products failed — up from seven in 2025. Of the 12 failures:

• 1 MySuper product — the default-style products most workers are in.
• 11 trustee-directed platform products — more specialised investment options, mostly on retail platforms. Six failed for the first time; five have failed at least two years running.

The MySuper failure is the headline. It was the Balanced Growth MySuper product of the Building Unions Superannuation Scheme (Queensland), known as BUSSQ — the first MySuper product to fail since 2023. It covers around 66,500 member accounts and about $6.4 billion in assets. BUSSQ returned 7.04% a year and underperformed its comparison return by 0.57% a year. Its chief executive, Damian Wills, said the fund takes the result seriously and has already changed its investment strategy, including moving to more indexed share mandates.

The 12 super products that failed in 2026

Here is the full list, in plain terms:

• BUSSQ — Balanced Growth MySuper (Queensland)
• Wealth Personal Superannuation and Pension Fund — North Guardian Balanced Fund
• Wealth Personal Superannuation and Pension Fund — North Guardian Growth Fund
• Wealth Personal Superannuation and Pension Fund — North Guardian Moderately Defensive Fund
• The Bendigo Superannuation Plan — Bendigo Balanced Wholesale Fund
• The Bendigo Superannuation Plan — Bendigo High Growth Index Fund
• IOOF Portfolio Service Superannuation Fund — MLC MultiActive Geared
• IOOF Portfolio Service Superannuation Fund — MLC MultiActive High Growth
• Oasis Superannuation Master Trust — MLC MultiActive Geared Trust
• Oasis Superannuation Master Trust — MLC MultiActive High Growth Trust
• Retirement Portfolio Service — MLC MultiActive Geared Trust
• Retirement Portfolio Service — MLC MultiActive High Growth Trust

That is the complete 2026 fail list. If your fund isn’t named here, it passed this year’s test.

What failing the performance test actually means

The test compares each product’s actual long-term net returns against what it should have earned given its mix of assets, using set reference returns for each asset class. A product fails if its result is −0.50% a year or worse.

A fail is not the same as losing money. Several failed options still posted positive returns — they just earned less than they should have for the risk taken. But small gaps compound. The letter trustees must send to affected members spells it out: earning just 1% a year more in net returns over 30 years could leave you 20% better off at retirement.

Here is what failure triggers:

• A letter from your fund. The trustee must write to affected members with set wording — no spin allowed. It suggests you consider moving your money and points you to the ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool.
• A second fail closes the door. A product that fails two years in a row is barred from accepting new members until it passes again.
• Repeat offenders usually disappear. All but four of the products that have ever failed the test more than once have been withdrawn from the market entirely.

Why this matters more than people think: sticking with a poor-performing fund can leave you with hundreds of thousands of dollars less at retirement, and 58% of Australians are still in the fund their employer picked for them — a choice many never revisit.

How to check your own fund in a few minutes

You don’t need to wait for a letter. Here’s the fastest way to check:

1. Use the ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool. Log in to myGov, go to ATO online, then Super, then YourSuper comparison. It ranks MySuper products by net returns using APRA’s data, shows each product’s Performing or Underperforming rating, and lets you compare up to four funds side by side — returns over 3, 5 and 10 years, annual fees and investment strategy. There is also a public non-personalised version if you don’t want to log in. Note it compares MySuper products, which covers most people in default options.
2. Read your annual statement. Your fund’s yearly statement shows your returns and fees. Compare your net return over five or more years, not one. One bad year proves nothing; super is measured in decades.
3. Look at APRA’s published data. APRA publishes the full test results and product data on its website, including fees. Its 2026 data package showed administration fees kept falling overall, but platform trustee-directed products remain materially more expensive and more likely to underperform over ten years.

What to do if your fund is on the list

First, don’t panic. A single failure doesn’t mean your savings are unsafe — even BUSSQ’s own chief executive stressed the result doesn’t affect the security of members’ savings, and the product remains open to new and existing members.

But do take it as a nudge to look properly. Judge any fund on five-plus years of net returns and fees, not on one year’s test result or one good year. And don’t just chase last year’s top performer — today’s winner is often next year’s middle of the pack.

Switching makes sense if your fund keeps underperforming its peers year after year, charges high fees for average returns, or offers investment options and insurance that no longer suit you. It rarely makes sense to switch in a rush the week you get the letter.

How to switch super funds, step by step

1. Compare first. Use the YourSuper tool to shortlist two or three better options. Look at net returns, total annual fees, investment choices and any extras that matter to you.
2. Check your insurance before you move. This is the step people skip. Insurance attached to super usually does not move with you. Keep your existing cover until the new fund’s cover is confirmed in writing, or you could end up uninsured.
3. Watch out for defined benefit accounts. If you’re in a defined benefit fund, get professional advice before rolling out — you generally can’t rejoin, and the guaranteed payout can be worth more than it looks.
4. Roll your balance over. The easiest way: log in to myGov, go to ATO online, then Super, then Manage, then Transfer super (this shows if you hold more than one account). Or ask the new fund to pull your balance across — most do the paperwork for you.
5. Tell your employer where to pay. Give them the new fund’s name, its USI and your member number. Remember that under stapling rules your existing fund follows you when you change jobs unless you choose otherwise — so an underperforming stapled fund keeps receiving your contributions until you act.

Why small funds keep merging

The performance test is part of a bigger squeeze. APRA has been pushing small funds to merge or exit for years, arguing scale leads to lower fees and better returns. The consolidation is well under way: industry researchers project roughly 33 APRA-regulated funds by 2035, down from 75 at 30 June 2025, and nine funds already manage more than $100 billion each. The top 24 funds — each over $20 billion — hold about 96% of industry assets.

October 2026 added to the pressure. APRA’s 2025–26 annual report — covering a system with $10 trillion under its supervision — led to licence conditions on six super trustees (including Diversa, Equity Trustees, Fiducian, Australian Ethical, HTFS Nominees and H.E.S.T. Australia) over investment governance, spending and risk management, plus a court-enforceable undertaking from Netwealth. The message to trustees is blunt: lift standards or face enforcement.

For members, the practical takeaway is simple. Being in a small, expensive fund is increasingly a bad bet — and checking your fund takes minutes.

Frequently asked questions

I’m a BUSSQ member. What should I do?

Read the letter your fund must send you, then compare your option against others on the YourSuper tool. BUSSQ says it has already changed its investment strategy after the failure. You are not locked in either way — compare the five-year numbers and decide on facts, not fear.

Will I definitely get a letter if my fund fails?

Members in a failed product must be notified — the wording is prescribed and can’t be dressed up. One protection gap worth knowing: retirees in equivalent retirement investment options may not get the same warning, even when the underlying option underperforms.

Does my insurance move when I switch?

Usually no. Arrange the new cover and have it confirmed before you close the old account. Also note that pre-existing medical conditions can affect new cover — another reason not to rush.

Can I just stay in a failed fund?

Yes — nothing forces you out after one failure. But do the maths: a persistent 1% a year drag can mean 20% less at retirement over 30 years. Staying should be a decision, not inertia.

Does payday super change anything here?

From 1 July 2026, employers must get your super guarantee into your fund within 7 business days of each payday (the rate stays at 12%). It doesn’t change which fund you’re in — but it does mean you can spot missing payments much sooner by checking each pay cycle against your fund balance.

This article is general information, not personal financial advice. If you’re unsure about your super, talk to a licensed financial adviser.