Government announces cuts to how much money investors can get back
On 19 August 2026, the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Dr. Daniel Mulino, announced changes to reduce the amount of money people can claim from the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR). The CSLR pays up to $150,000 each to people who have been awarded money by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), but the financial business has not paid them.
What does it mean
Under the changes, people will no longer be able to claim money back for lost investment earnings from the CSLR. The CSLR will still pay money that people invested and was lost because of poor financial advice. People can still ask for lost investment earnings when making a complaint to AFCA and AFCA will still have the power to order the financial advice company to pay for it. This change affects people who make complaints about financial advice companies that are no longer in business or who do not have enough money to pay. Super Consumers estimates that this could be about $26,500 for the average person whose super was invested in the Shield or First Guardian Master Funds.
The changes will apply to any complaints received by AFCA from 1 July 2027. The CSLR will not be able to pay for lost investment earnings for complaints lodged with AFCA from that date.
The Government is making these changes to save money and reduce the amount of money that financial businesses have to contribute to fund the CSLR. In order to make these changes, the Government will have to change the law by passing legislation through Parliament. We do not have information about when this will happen.
What you should do
There are still thousands of Shield and First Guardian investors who haven’t made an AFCA complaint yet. The time to make a complaint is now. If you want to be compensated for lost investment earnings, lodge a complaint with AFCA before 1 July 2027.
How to lodge a complaint
Super Consumers Australia has developed a simple complaint form to help people who lost money in Shield and First Guardian make a complaint. The complaint form and checklists can be downloaded from the Tools page of the Take Your Super Back website.