Investments

Strong, structured governance is critical for achieving long-term consistent, above-average investment performance. Enhancing our investment governance and capability has remained a key focus during the year.

A key activity was a review of our asset consultant. Willis Towers Watson had performed this role for more than 15 years, and it was an important part of our governance review to undertake a tender process for this service contract. Effective May 2019, Frontier Advisors was appointed Coal LSL’s asset consultant for a five-year period.

The performance for the year ended June 2019 was 7.4%, which was well ahead of the investment objective of CPI+3%. The return for the year was significantly more than the actuarial earnings rate of 6%, which is positive for the funding ratio of the fund.

The fund has delivered on the investment objectives as well as the corporate objective, not only over the last year but over three-, five- and eight-year periods.

It achieved the following annual returns in the last five years (ending 30 June):

Operational activities

During 2018–19 we focused on delivering on our purpose to connect employers and employees with their long service leave in several ways. Across the business our performance remained strong, indicating continued success of the revised strategy. While managing operational expenditure within budget and industry benchmarks, we continued our progression from a transaction-focused business to an interactive and service-focused organisation with a clear vision for the future. Our annual performance statements detail our achievements over the past financial year.

Employer compliance

Employer compliance has continued to be a key focus, proactively engaging with employers of eligible employees to help them understand their obligations. Our client engagement team participated in 268 employer meetings in 2018–19. This is an increase in engagement activity of 122% from prior year. As a result, we have continued to see strong growth in new employer registrations and, to date, we have 780 registered employers compared to 672 at 30 June 2018, representing a 16% increase.