HESTA members face financial stress as superannuation fund access remains limited until JuneBy business reporter Adelaide MillerTopic:Superannuation2h ago2 hours agoTue 29 Apr 2025 at 9:40pmHESTA customers are unable to log in to their accounts until June. (ABC News: Stephanie Chalmers)In short: HESTA members have expressed outrage at the super fund's seven-week planned outage affecting more than 1 million Australians.Despite the fund alerting members in February, some told ABC News they weren't aware until it had already began.What's next?Members will be able to access their accounts again from June 2 and HESTA says "urgent and critical payments" will still be processed.abc.net.au/news/hesta-super-customers-impacted-by-seven-week-outage/105225830Link copiedShareShare articleSuperannuation fund HESTA's seven-week outage has caused financial havoc for member Jan Massey, who says being unable to access her super almost derailed her home purchase.The Perth retiree said she had to borrow money from her friends to pay the deposit that was due last week."Everybody's struggling at the moment … but also, I didn't want to lose this house. So you're kind of in a dilemma, really."Members of HESTA — one of Australia's largest super funds — have expressed outrage and concern after being locked out of their accounts until June, in a planned outage affecting more than 1 million Australians.Ms Massey said she only found out when she went online to check her account in mid-April, despite HESTA having first announced the outage in February.Jan Massey borrowed funds from friends to pay a house deposit after her super fund went offline. (Supplied)By the time she learnt of the freeze, it was too late for her to withdraw funds, as HESTA had advised its members to "make any important changes" to online accounts by the end of March.Xavier O'Halloran, director of Super Consumers Australia, said many members would have found out about the planned outage late."Super funds don't always have up to date contacts for people and they don't do enough at the moment to make sure they keep those details up to date," he said."It's unsurprising to me that a lot of consumers are being caught unawares by this announcement."With services already offline by the time Ms Massey realised, instead of contacting HESTA, she turned to her friends."I'm embarrassed I have to ask for money," she told ABC News.While the former health worker had retired in October last year, the lack of access to her super funds contributed to Ms Massey returning to work for a few weeks."I do feel a sense of panic … I'm kind of not sleeping very well and thinking, how's this all going to end?" she said.After ABC News put questions to HESTA, Ms Massey said the super fund contacted her to assist with an application to withdraw funds before the planned recommencement of services in June.In a statement, a HESTA spokesperson said, "we're continuing to support our members through this period of change as we know that, while in the short-term it may be challenging, this transition will provide the technology platform and data capabilities to better service our members in the years ahead."We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause members and we're working hard to make the transition as smooth as possible."HESTA says the "planned limited services period" is common for technology projects of this scale. (ABC News: Emilia Terzon)Length of outage 'bound to catch people out'The reason for the outage is the super fund is changing administration providers, which it first announced in February.While some members wrote to ABC News saying they had received clear communication from HESTA, dozens say they were only made aware of the shutdown period after a report published on Good Friday.One super fund member in Perth said his wife received a letter in the mail that advised her of the shutdown period — however, it arrived three days after the cut-off date for making any important changes to her account.She filed a complaint to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) at the start of April, stating "it is obvious this letter has not been posted in time to give members sufficient notice of impending important changes … it appears that the trustees have failed in their duty of care to members in this instance."Mr O'Halloran said outsourcing administration services leaves super funds "vulnerable to huge risk"."Risks of bad customer service, risks of being locked into an administrator that takes seven weeks to switch to a new administrator if you're not happy with the level of service," he said.Consumer advocate Xavier O'Halloran says it's unsurprising some HESTA members have been caught unawares. (ABC News: Alex McDonald)"That risk all just flows to consumers experiencing really bad customer service."Mr O'Halloran said the length of the planned outage is what will impact many Australians."It's far longer than any others that I've managed to find on record, they typically get done in less than a month or so," he said."Having seven weeks to process this was bound to catch people out and hit them when they need their money for things like buying a house or major expenses that they've got in their life."Market experts warn against 'knee-jerk reactions'Photo shows Blue background with black grid and piles of coinsincreasing in height with a shadow.Around half of Australians' superannuation balances are invested in global and local stocks, meaning the tariff-induced market ructions are hitting super savings. Here's why experts say it's not time to panic.A HESTA spokesperson described it as a "planned limited services period" and said it was common "with complex large-scale technology projects of this nature"."This is a critical phase of the project, designed to ensure the safe and secure transfer of our 1 million-plus members' accounts."We are confident this project will set us up to deliver better outcomes for members, allowing for more personalised experiences that can make it easier for them to manage their super."ABC News put questions to APRA, the regulator with oversight of the super sector, but it said it does not comment on individual matters."I think there's serious questions to be asked about how [APRA] took into account any consumer harm that might flow from a very long limited service period," Mr O'Halloran said.Withdrawal requested prior to shutdown delayedAnother HESTA member, Melbourne woman Martina Neville, said she was informed of the shutdown period back in February and made plans to withdraw funds in March for upcoming bills."I withdrew some money because I knew I had some payments of insurance and registration and so on come up in May [and] June."'Depriving my future self': would-be buyers weigh up super withdrawalPhoto shows Jordan looking at a real estate sign out front of a house.With home ownership more out of reach than ever for younger Australians, some are pondering whether their retirement fund would be better off used now, to buy a house.The semi-retired occupational therapist said on March 17 she made an application to withdraw $9,000.On March 20, she made a second application to withdraw $10,000.A few days later, Ms Neville received a text message asking her to call HESTA, as the super fund needed more information to process the request."I talked to the operator … who told me that one of my applications was approved, which was the second one, and I should be getting paid within three to five working days," she told ABC News."I was saying, 'how about my first application?' He wasn't so sure, but he will follow it up."A few days later, Ms Neville said she spoke to another consultant who said HESTA had both applications.But when the funds landed in her account, it was only for the second application, leaving her $9,000 short of the funds she needed.When Ms Neville followed up again with HESTA, she said the consultant told her the matter would now have to wait until after the planned outage."It's an absolute pain … I feel stressed because I've got some payments coming up," she said."I've got family I could borrow money from but I hate borrowing money, you don't know exactly when you can pay it back because you don't know when the money is coming through."After ABC News put questions to HESTA, Ms Neville said the super fund contacted her and processed the application of $9,000."Our contact centre and member engagement teams are actively supporting members with their queries," said a spokesperson for HESTA."While there are temporary disruptions to some services, it's important to note that members can still switch investments and receive urgent and critical payments during the limited services period."Loading...Posted 2h ago2 hours agoTue 29 Apr 2025 at 9:40pmShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesAustralia faces a 'lonelier' world with rules-based order crumblingTopic:National SecurityPhoto shows Two men wearing glasses and suits behind the backdrop of the world map.Data shows shift in views towards Australia's relationship with US and ChinaTopic:Foreign AffairsPhoto shows A graphic shows a defence tank and aircraft over a map of Australia.There's a reason Dutton can't resort to a scare campaign with older AustraliansAAnalysis by Annabel CrabbPhoto shows Peter DuttonHolmes à Court fuels movement that denies he'll have seat at the tableTopic:Political Parties and MovementsPhoto shows shac tealFinal campaign dash as Albanese sweats on Dutton suburban fightbackTopic:ElectionsPhoto shows Anthony Albanese takes a selfie with the public on a street.Related storiesOne of Australia's biggest super funds is freezing services until JuneTopic:SuperannuationPhoto shows A close up of a Hesta sign on a wall.'It's happened so quickly': Super balances hit as markets tumbleTopic:SuperannuationPhoto shows Blue background with black grid and piles of coinsincreasing in height with a shadow.Australia will soon be second in the world for retirement savingsTopic:SuperannuationPhoto shows Mary stands in an office corridor, wearing a sleeveless black dress, with long hair.Related topicsAustraliaConsumer ProtectionSuperannuationTop StoriesAustralia faces a 'lonelier' world with rules-based order crumblingTopic:National SecurityPhoto shows Two men wearing glasses and suits behind the backdrop of the world map.Data shows shift in views towards Australia's relationship with US and ChinaTopic:Foreign AffairsThere's a reason Dutton can't resort to a scare campaign with older AustraliansAAnalysis by Annabel CrabbHolmes à Court fuels movement that denies he'll have seat at the tableTopic:Political Parties and MovementsFinal campaign dash as Albanese sweats on Dutton suburban fightbackTopic:ElectionsJust InNationals candidate Andrew Lethlean under pressure over lapsed liquor licenceTopic:Elections15m ago15 minutes agoWed 30 Apr 2025 at 12:00am'Foal beats coal' in land use fight that divided a communityTopic:Coal50m ago50 minutes agoTue 29 Apr 2025 at 11:25pmAlleged triple-murderer Erin Patterson's trial over mushroom lunch beginsLIVE52m ago52 minutes agoTue 29 Apr 2025 at 11:23pmAmbulance Victoria admits to second illegal COVID-era gatheringTopic:Emergency Services58m ago58 minutes agoTue 29 Apr 2025 at 11:17pmMore Just InBack to top