Hundreds of Aussies who lost $160 million in ‘forgotten’ superannuation collapse handed lifeline

The 600 Australians who lost their superannuation in the collapse of Queensland-based scheme Australian Fiduciaries Ltd (AFL) have been given a second chance to recoup some of their losses.

When AFL entered liquidation in 2025, the collapse took $160 million in super savings with it. After its licensee was deregistered, investors in this scheme were blocked from accessing compensation.

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A last-minute lifeline from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) will ensure victims can file a complaint and attempt to claw back a fraction of their loss.

While close to 12,000 investors lost $1.1 billion in the well-publicised liquidation of First Guardian and Master Shield funds, the hundreds impacted by AFL’s similar wipeout have been left all but forgotten.

AFCA has been providing a free dispute resolution service to Australians who are missing their retirement funds in the three collapses.

But APT Strategies, the relevant licensee for AFL, was deregistered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in January 2025.

It’s AFCA membership ended with it.

“By that point, the pathway to lodge a complaint through AFCA was effectively gone,” First Guardian investor and victim advocate Melinda Kee told nine.com.au.

Nine.com.au is aware of several investors who were unable to proceed with an AFCA complaint for this reason and are yet to receive a cent back.

ASIC re-registered APT Strategy Pty Ltd as a company under a Supreme Court of Queensland court order in July.

It then asked ACFA to maintain it as member for 12 months in order for investors to file complaints.

ACFA announced on Thursday it has now officially reinstated APT as a member, meaning impacted investors can now submit complaints.

“Now that APT Strategy’s AFCA membership has been reinstated for 12 months, consumers who have concerns about financial advice provided by the firm can bring their complaints to AFCA whilst the membership is current,” said AFCA Lead Ombudsman for Investments and Advice Shail Singh said.

“We recognise the impact these circumstances have had on this group of consumers.”

AFCA said investors who had their original complaint denied can now resubmit.

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However, APT’s liquidation means it is unlikely victims of the collapse will be refunded their full investment.

A ruling from AFCA under this scheme is expected to result in a determination from the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR), which can pay up to $150,000 to consumers when a company is liquidated and compensation pathways are exhausted.

Many of the 600 AFL investors lost far more than $150,000.

Kee said the announcement is still a win for hundreds of Australians who were left with zero retirement savings.

“This one feels particularly special because, for a long time, the Australian Fiduciaries investors seemed to have been put in the ‘too hard’ basket,” she told nine.com.au.

“Their problem wasn’t simply that they had lost their retirement savings – they had effectively lost their pathway to justice as well.

“Working with Callun Blurton from FD Legal to find a way through that has been incredibly rewarding. I’m thrilled for the investors, and I sincerely thank ASIC and AFCA for the role they have played in making this possible.”

As of February, AFCA had determined 16 complaints pre-deregistration regarding against APT Strategy and awarded $5.71 million in compensation.

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.