Letter · Superannuation

Complaint to a trustee or life insurer about a disability decision

A complaint to the trustee, or to the life insurer, about a decision on income protection or disablement cover held in superannuation, asking for the written response the Life Code describes. It is not a complaint to AFCA.

Kind
Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
Where it applies
Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales
AI use
Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
Law stated as at
23 October 2026
Status
Maintained. Checked on 23 October 2026 against the 5 authorities it cites, for Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.
Version
1
Source
Written for this library

When to use it

Use when the member wants the trustee or the insurer to review a decision on cover held in the fund, before any complaint to AFCA. Do not use it as the AFCA complaint, or as a complaint about general insurance under the General Insurance Code.

Used for these tasks

Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.

How AI may be used

The lawyer and the tool draft the complaint from the decision and the instructions, and the lawyer checks each issue and the outcome sought before it is sent.

AI may

  • Identify the decision, its date and the issues the member wants reviewed
  • State the outcome sought in the words the lawyer has approved
  • Ask the trustee for a final written response within 45 calendar days where the policy is one the trustee owns

AI must not

  • Must not lodge this letter with AFCA or call it an AFCA complaint
  • Must not add an issue that is not in the instructions or the documents
  • Must not say the original decision is stayed
  • Must not promise that the 45 days will be met where the Code says "where possible"

The lawyer checks

  • The complaint goes to the trustee, the insurer, or both, matching who made the decision
  • The person asked to handle it was not the person who made the decision, as clause 7.5 describes
  • The AFCA time limit is diarised from the current Rules and is not calculated in this letter
  • Draft only in the firm's approved tool. In Victoria and New South Wales, do not disclose confidential client information without authority under Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules r 9.2.1. A Queensland solicitor checks the local conduct rules.
  • If client information leaves the approved environment, check APP 11 and whether there is an eligible data breach under the Privacy Act notifiable data breach scheme.

Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.

Authorities

Read the full text

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