The Albanese government has already changed the mandate of the Future Fund to invest in housing and the green energy transition, “where possible, appropriate, and consistent with strong returns”.
This was the first time the federal government imposed asset classes on the Future Fund, which was formed in 2006 by then-Liberal Treasurer Peter Costello to finance federal employees’ pensions.
The decision reaffirmed Chalmers’ belief in “values-based capitalism,” which focuses both public and private resources towards social ends. It also aligns with the Future Fund’s new chair, former Labor Minister Greg Combet, who wishes to boost investment in renewable energy.
In November 2024, the Albanese government passed legislation that defined the objective of superannuation as “to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way”.
Paul Schroder, the head of the nation’s largest fund, AustralianSuper, described the government’s intervention into superannuation investments as an “utter disaster”.
“There is nothing worse than the prospect of government intervening in investment decision-making. Nothing worse”, Schroder said.
“In the Australian system, individual members carry the investment risk. You can’t then impose decisions about investments on them”.
Schroder argued that super funds “must” act in their members’ “best financial interest” to ensure the highest returns on their investments.
“It would be a disaster if a government of any persuasion, of any political colour, became involved in investment decision-making. An utter disaster”, he said.
In October 2025, The Australian reported that Chalmers wanted to direct Australia’s superannuation savings into Labor’s pet policy areas, such as renewable energy.
“Jim Chalmers is accelerating government plans to unlock billions of dollars from Australia’s $4.3 trillion superannuation system to underwrite Labor’s policy priorities through an overhaul of rules that will remove “unnecessary obstacles to investment””, Geoff Chambers wrote.
“Dr Chalmers confirmed he was pushing ahead with superannuation performance test changes to ensure the nation’s retirement savings were available to invest in key areas including housing and clean energy”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is preparing to release a consultation paper on changing the superannuation performance test administered by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. It ranks super funds based on their yearly and longer-term investment returns, net of fees, against a benchmark created by APRA.
It is understood that Chalmers is considering excluding venture capital, affordable housing, and renewable energy from the test to encourage the $4.5 trillion super sector to allocate a greater share of its money to riskier investments or those of a ‘nation-building’ nature.
As Judith Sloan reported six months ago, Sweden’s pension fund has lost billions of dollars after investing in unsuccessful renewable energy projects at the government’s request.
Sweden’s pension industry has lost approximately SEK 197 billion (≈ €18.5 billion/USD $20 billion) due to investments in large-scale renewable and “green industrial” projects, primarily in renewable energy and net-zero industrial ventures.
The main losses are:
- Northvolt (battery manufacturing): Once heralded as Europe’s EV battery champion, the company experienced major financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy.
- Green steel enterprises (e.g., Stegra/Hybrit projects) have struggled with funding constraints and rising expenses.
- Other start-ups in Sweden’s far north, part of the government’s “green industrial revolution”, failed to deliver projected returns.
Sweden’s government urged pension funds to support its “green industrial revolution”. Swedish pension funds invested extensively in climate-aligned industrial projects instead of diversified financial assets. Renewable mega-projects then experienced cost overruns, technological challenges, and lower-than-expected demand.
Sweden’s large state-run “buffer funds” (e.g., Andra APfonden/AP2) and occupational insurance, such as AMF Pension, made the most significant investments in these initiatives.
There are significant lessons for Australia. Sweden’s pension losses highlight the risks of investing retirement savings in high-risk industrial decarbonisation initiatives.
Australia’s superannuation funds should behave in the best financial interests of their members and seek the highest potential investment returns. Politicians should not use our superannuation assets as a slush fund for political purposes or social justice issues.
Superannuation savings belong to Australians, not the government. Maximising financial returns for a dignified retirement should be the sole mandate.
It is bad enough that the federal government is squandering billions of public funds on boondoggle energy initiatives like Snowy Hydro 2.0. But directing Australia’s superannuation savings in this way, with little transparency and accountability, is worse.
Keep your hands off our superannuation savings, Jim Chalmers. It is not a government plaything.
