Dear Australian Crime Commission,

The Chairman of ASIC is a member of the Board of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (formerly the Australian Crime Commission).

ASIC has been given a directive by the Minister responsible for ASIC to investigate the non-payment or delayed payment of life insurance products in response to the CommInsure scandal reported by Fairfax Media.

This is what the Minister Responsible for ASIC, the Hon Kelly O'Dwyer MP, said to Michael Brissenden of the ABC on 8 March 2016:

"We're getting ASIC to do an investigation as to whether those practices that have been raised in relation to CommInsure are more widespread; whether there is a broader systemic issue within the industry"

Life insurance products can be obtained either via a life insurance company or via a superannuation fund.

ASIC has been provided with a document that might be described as a "group death benefit policy" document dated 20 November 1974 that added Regulation 30A to the provisions of an occupational pension scheme established by a Trust Deed executed on the 23 December 1913 in the State of South Australia.

Regulation 30A provides a death benefit to widows in the form of a survivorship pension following the death of their late husband.

It is important to note that a copy of this document that forms part of the governing rules of the 1913 Fund was not lodged with the Regulator APRA as required by Section 29L of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993. The earliest Deed lodged with APRA was dated 26 August 1986.

The document dated 26 August 1986 bears the signature of a company Director who had pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to act honestly as an officer of the sponsoring employer between April 1986, and June 1990 before Justice Coldrey in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

In 1974 the name of this fund was The Provident Fund, however in 1982 the name of the fund was changed to the Elders IXL Superannuation Fund. This fund was more recently known as the AusBev Superannuation Fund.

Since 20 January 2014 the Trust Estate of this occupational pension scheme has been under the control of subsidiary companies of the National Australia Bank (NAB).

The death benefit for widows is not being paid by the National Australia Bank.

The Defined Benefit pension scheme was closed to new members on the 30 November 1997, so there will be still widows alive until 2060 to 2070 who have a prima facie right to receive a survivorship pension pursuant to the provisions of Regulation 30A.

Given the important of Regulation 30A, I am now seeking confirmation that the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has possession of a copy of the Deed of Variation dated 20 November 1974 which recites the original Trust Deed dated 23 December 1913.

If the Commission has possession of this document of evidence then this document will be available to be submitted by the ACIC to a Royal Commission into the banks, along with additional evidence ether lodged with the ACIC or obtained by the ACIC.

The document I seek is a copy of the Deed of Variation dated 20 November 1974 that amends the provisions of an occupational pension scheme established by a Trust Deed dated 23 December 1913 to add Regulation 30A and where the original sponsoring employer was a company called Elder Smith & Co Ltd.

The Deed of Variation dated 20 November 1974 was executed by a majority of the Directors of Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort Ltd.

The search period is from 1 July 2016 to 1 August 2016

Yours faithfully,

Phillip Sweeney