Natalie leads our Superannuation & Financial Services team. With more than 25 years’ experience, she has an enviable reputation for her in-depth knowledge in these highly regulated and complex practice areas, and for her clear, commercially astute advice.
“I think what makes her an exceptional lawyer and trusted adviser is her knowledge on superannuation matters and her ability to provide very practical and timely advice. There have been instances where there have been very tight timeframes and she has always delivered advice that hits the mark in a calm and considered way.”
– Chambers & Partners (Asia Pacific, 2022)
Natalie’s expertise includes:
- fund transfers and mergers
- Australian financial services licensing and disclosure aspects of the Corporations Act 2001
- all aspects of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, including RSE Licensing requirements and APRA regulation
- breach reporting and error remediation
- fund documentation, such as trust deeds and deed amendments, investment management agreements, outsourcing agreements, trustee appointment and retirement documentation
- trust law issues, interpretation of fund governing rules and general fund administration issues – including on complex defined benefit matters
- group insurance arrangements for death and disability benefits
- member disclosure materials, such as product disclosure statements, annual reports, benefit statements, significant event notices, calculators and retirement forecasts
- litigation and dispute resolution concerning a broad range of financial services matters (including disablement claims and misleading/deceptive conduct) and complaints before AFCA
- applications to APRA, ASIC and AUSTRAC for relief from regulatory requirements
- corporate governance
- privacy requirements
- anti-money laundering legislation
- family law superannuation splitting
- trustee indemnity insurance matters
- employee superannuation aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions, and
- employer obligations under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992.
Natalie advises trustees, fund administrators and employers on all aspects of superannuation law. She advises financial services entities on licensing and disclosure, and on matters relating to managed investment schemes and investments generally. Her expertise also encompasses anti-money laundering and privacy laws.
With consolidation in the superannuation industry over recent years, Natalie has worked on a significant number of large successor fund transfers across various sectors of the industry. Her deep legal expertise and commercial approach (and that of her team) assists clients to complete mergers successfully.
In addition to her law qualifications, Natalie holds an ASFA Diploma of Superannuation Management. She is a member and past Chair of the Superannuation Committee of the Law Council of Australia (and also former Chair of the Consultations and Submissions sub-committee), and a member of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia. Natalie is also on the editorial panel of the Australian Superannuation Law Bulletin published by LexisNexis and has been named a Legal Influencer by Lexology (Q4 2022, Q2 & Q4 2023, and Q3 2024) for the quality and relevancy of her insights into the ever-changing regulatory landscape.
