The Path of Duty Down Under

Catherine James, Acting General Counsel and Executive General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Challenger Limited, Australia

The focus of this paper is on the priority duties owed by Australian life companies and their directors to policyholders and addresses how those duties operate where the policyholder is a superannuation fund trustee. It also analyses the very limited circumstances where an Australian life company may owe certain other direct duties to a member of an Australian superannuation fund.

Catherine has over 20 years’ experience as a legal practitioner in NSW, Australia, with significant experience in financial services. Catherine is responsible for Challenger's legal risk management and corporate affairs. Her main areas of legal practice s

Challenger Limited is an ASX 100 company, managing $60 billion of assets, whose vision is to provide its customers with financial security for retirement. Challenger's APRA regulated life company is the largest provider of annuities in Australia, and its