Macquarie or Netwealth paid you back?
They returned your capital. The growth your super would have earned in your old fund can be a separate claim against the advice firm. You see your own estimate before you pay.
I never contact you first. You found this page, or someone sent it to you.
What was paid back
If your money went into Shield through Macquarie's platform, the trustee of that platform paid it back. Macquarie Investment Management Limited committed to paying members 100% of the amounts they invested in Shield, less any amounts withdrawn (ASIC media release 25-215MR).
If your money went into First Guardian through Netwealth's platform, Netwealth Superannuation Services Pty Ltd and Netwealth Investments Limited, as trustees of the Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund, agreed with ASIC to compensate members 100% of the amounts they invested in First Guardian, less any amounts withdrawn. The payments were to be made by 30 January 2026 (ASIC media release 25-307MR).
That payment was the money that went in. It was not the growth that money would have earned if it had stayed in your old fund.
What is left is the growth
AFCA's published method compares what your super would be worth if it had stayed where it was with what you actually have (AFCA, Approach to calculating loss in financial advice complaints, December 2023, section 2.2). When the money that went in has been paid back in full and nothing is left in the account, the difference is the growth alone.
A worked example. My calculator ran these figures on 29 October 2026 for a test case, not a real person: $379,707.49 moved out of Macquarie Super's Balanced option in June 2022, all of it paid back in September 2025, nothing left in the account.
| Period | Return | Balance at the end |
|---|---|---|
| June 2022, from 1 June | −2.87% | $368,802.13 |
| July 2022 to June 2023 | +7.64% | $396,965.51 |
| July 2023 to June 2024 | +9.30% | $433,876.92 |
| July 2024 to June 2025 | +12.73% | $489,092.38 |
| July 2025 to 1 September 2025 | +3.23% | $504,884.49 |
| Had it stayed in Macquarie Super's Balanced option | $504,884.49 |
|---|---|
| Paid back | $379,707.49 |
| Left in the account | $0.00 |
| Money that went in and was not paid back | $379,707.49 less $379,707.49, which is $0.00 |
| Growth it missed | $504,884.49 less $379,707.49, which is $125,177.00 |
| Interest | AFCA decides. |
Each return is worked out from the published quarterly returns of the option the money left, from APRA's Quarterly Superannuation Product Statistics (December 2025 edition), and each period builds on the one before. The percentages are rounded here; the calculation uses APRA's figures unrounded.
Your own figure is worked out the same way, from the option you left and your own dates. You see your estimate before you pay.
How large the growth is
For money moved in June 2022 and paid back in September 2025, the growth worked out this way is between 28% and 36% of the amount moved, if the money left the default option of one of ten large super funds.
The ten are Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper, Aware Super, CareSuper, Cbus, HESTA, Hostplus, REST, TelstraSuper and UniSuper. I ran their published returns through my calculator on 29 October 2026, the same way as the example above.
It is less for a cautious option, more for a growth option, and different for other dates. It is an estimate. AFCA decides.
What AFCA decided in one published case like this (AFCA case 12-24-169714, 24 December 2025):
“The trustee of the Macquarie Super Fund has already compensated Mr D for the capital amount he invested in the Shield – Growth Class. But for the inappropriate advice, Mr D would have remained in the previous platform super fund. The foregone earnings of $118,931.15 are also a direct loss he has incurred as a result. It is fair the financial firm compensates Mr D that amount plus interest.”
The financial firm in that case is InterPrac, the adviser's licensee. One decision, on its own facts, not a promise of yours.
InterPrac is challenging AFCA in the Federal Court. AFCA is still accepting and investigating InterPrac complaints, and says to lodge as soon as you can. It will not make final decisions on them until the court case ends. I cannot tell you when that will be.
Two complaints, one loss
I help you draft a complaint against the adviser's firm. In the case above, that is the firm AFCA ordered to pay the growth.
I also help you draft a complaint against the trustee of the platform. It asks for the same growth. It is the same loss, not a second amount, and AFCA decides who pays.
In the same case, AFCA said:
“The panel finds Mr D could, in fact, seek his total direct loss, including the capital loss had the trustee of the Macquarie Super Fund not already compensated him, solely from the financial firm.”
AFCA's published position on complaints about super funds: AFCA has a limited jurisdiction in relation to complaints about superannuation funds. We cannot consider complaints about the management of the fund or scheme as a whole. We can consider other complaints brought against superannuation trustees, for example about misleading conduct or financial advice a trustee representative has provided.
If you are part of a class action
Gordon Legal filed a class action against Macquarie Investment Management Limited about the Shield Master Fund in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 16 September 2026.
A class action was filed against Netwealth Superannuation Services Pty Ltd about the First Guardian Master Fund.
A class action was filed against Netwealth Investments Limited about the First Guardian Master Fund.
AFCA publishes how it treats a complaint when there is a class action. It says: "Anyone who falls within the definition of the class becomes a class member, regardless of whether they know about it or not." It also says: "It is more appropriate for the court to hear the class action if the parties and issues are similar – in these circumstances AFCA will exclude the complaint." And: "Complainants may wish to obtain independent legal advice on whether they fall within the definition of the class, and if so, whether they should opt out of it and continue their complaint with AFCA." (AFCA, "Class actions affecting AFCA complaints".) I am not a lawyer and this is general information, not legal advice.
I do not turn anyone away because of a class action. Whether AFCA considers your complaint is AFCA's decision.
If your adviser's firm is in liquidation
Financial Services Group Australia, United Global Capital, MWL Financial Services and Next Generation Advice are in liquidation. InterPrac is not.
A firm that is still trading is required to pay an AFCA determination itself. Where an advice firm is insolvent, compensation may be paid through the federal Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR).
The CSLR can pay up to $150,000 per person per AFCA determination. You cannot be paid twice for the same losses.
AFCA is free, and you never need this service to use it. To lodge on your own today: 1800 931 678 or afca.org.au. Free help preparing a complaint: takeyoursuperback.com, run by Super Consumers Australia. If you are in financial hardship, free legal help is available from the Financial Rights Legal Centre on 1800 007 007.
If AFCA is free, why would I pay you?
You do not need to. AFCA is free, and Take Your Super Back has a free complaint form. What stops most people is writing it up and working out the loss. That is the part I do. You see your estimate before you pay anything.
Price
- $33 a week · $1,650 in total · 50 payments, one a week
- $66 a fortnight · $1,650 in total · 25 payments, one a fortnight
- $165 a month · $1,650 in total · 10 payments, one a month
- $1,650 once · $1,650 in total · One payment
All prices include GST.
AFCA will not add my fee to your compensation. Anything you pay me is a cost you carry.
If you cannot afford this, email me at graham@noaussieleftbehind.com. Same documents, free. I will not ask why.
“AFCA's service is free for consumers. You do not need to pay someone to help you lodge a complaint with AFCA.”
$1,650 covers every complaint I help you draft, however many that is.