The former head of FASEA, a former ASIC chair and the founder of the precursor to Diversa Trustees are launching an independent superannuation trustee to compete with trustee for hire services.
Super Trustees Australia will be led by managing director Nick Brookes who founded CCSL Trustees in 2005 which was sold to Diversa Trustees in 2011.
CCSL is still currently the trustee for the Personal Choice Private Fund and Lifefocus Superannuation Fund.
Professional Planner understands that the new businesswill aim to compete with trustees for hire like Diversa Trustees and Equity Trustees.
Former ASIC chair James Shipton is the independent chair of the trustee while former FASEA chief executive Stephen Glenfield will be an independent director on the board.
Glenfield led FASEA, which governed adviser standards and education until it was dismantled by the former Coalition government, from 2018.
He also spent 20 years at APRA as a general manager and chair of the Superannuation Industry Group and a member of the Prudential Policy Committee.
“At a system level there has been ongoing discussion about the consistency and depth of trustee oversight,” Glenfield told Professional Planner in statement.
“The opportunity with STA is to build a model where independence and clarity of role are central. That is the focus for us: strengthening foundations and supporting better outcomes, rather than responding to individual events.”
Shipton was ASIC chair from 2018 to 2021 but stood down from his role after it was alleged the regulator improperly reimbursed him $118,000 to receive personal tax advice. He agreed to step down despite the final report into the review showing no adverse findings against him.
The trustee was launched due to “heightened scrutiny for the superannuation sector” with the introduction of Superannuation Prudential Standard (SPS) 515 in July 2025, which broadly governs strategic planning and member outcomes from trustees, as well as other prudential reforms that have been designed to improve governance.
The group believes that SPS 515 and the broader regulatory reforms and expectations were designed to re-centre member outcomes as the core driver of trustee decision-making and to raise the standard of governance across the system.
The broader board includes former KPMG partner Mitchell Petrie and company secretary Natasha Quirk, who has held various APRA and industry chief risk officer roles.
The outsourced trustee model has received criticism for its gatekeeper role in the Shield and First Guardian collapse, although ASIC chair Joe Longo recently said he doesn’t see any end to the model.
Glenfield wouldn’t comment on the Shield and First Guardian matters specifically but said that more broadly, those events have contributed to a “wider conversation” in the sector about expectations of trustees.
“STA’s framework is designed to give funds confidence that governance, risk and member duties are being approached with a clear and singular focus,” Glenfield said.
Reflecting on his time as FASEA head in light of the Shield and First Guardian scandal, Glenfield said it has reinforced that professional and ethical standards are one part of the broader system that protects members’ interests.
“Governance, independence and effective oversight are equally important,” Glenfield said.
“Independent trusteeship can help support that system by providing clarity of role and a dedicated focus on member outcomes. Beyond that, it wouldn’t be appropriate to offer specific observations while formal processes are ongoing.”
