“Self-managed super is a proud legacy of the Howard-Costello government and it will remain critical under future Coalition governments. We cannot allow a preferential regulatory regime to apply to one sector over another.“

He added that superannuation has a “vital role to play” in supporting the aspirations of Australians and the Coalition is committed to its role in the retirement system.

“Changes to the super system should add to what super delivers in retirement, not add to what politicians can’t fund with their budgets. It shouldn’t be there to fill the holes of a government that wants to spend more money,” Taylor said.

Taylor told attendees that to ensure the SMSF sector remains robust there is a critical need to better support finance professionals working in the retirement system, particularly those working with SMSFs.

“This extends beyond financial advisers to accountants, bookkeepers, and lawyers,” he said.

“We need to support these professions, not burden them with more red tape, more costs, and more headaches dealing with government regulators.”

The growing size and role of super, Taylor said, means it is even more important that policy settings are correct and emphasised the need to focus on the “importance of good governance, clear price signals, and transparency about the use of members’ funds”.

“The IMF has warned of the risks of getting this wrong and the RBA has made this clear in its financial stability review.”

“There is no doubt the industry is shifting – with more members hitting retirement age with accumulated savings; more Australians having substantial balances in super; and the super guarantee increasing to 12 per cent - members’ expectations are changing and escalating.”

Furthermore, he added that if superannuation is to keep its social licence, its focus on members’ interests must be “relentless”.

However, he said that critical to building this social licence is remembering that while superannuation is an important part of the retirement system, it’s not the entire system.

“The Coalition’s super for housing policy is about restoring the promise of super, not dismantling it.”

“We are in a bizarre position where super advocacy bodies are supporting higher taxes on super while opposing its use for housing. Sensible people can disagree, but there is no faster way to end the social license of super than by engaging in partisan attacks, disingenuous commentary, or scare campaigns.”

Taylor said he acknowledged the work of industry association leaders who, while not supporting this policy, continued to constructively engage.

“Blake Briggs of the Financial Services Council has acknowledged the importance of the home-ownership challenge to the future of our financial system and retirement policy; Mary Delahunty of ASFA, for identifying the good work some funds are doing – such as Aussie Super - on supporting the objective of home ownership through innovative models as well.”

“A compulsory retirement system that ignores home ownership flies in the face of all evidence about the importance of home ownership to retirement outcomes.”