The new body, dubbed the Super Members Council of Australia, has been jointly created by the super funds that were members of AIST and Industry Super Australia (ISA).

AIST bid farewell in a statement following an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held online this week, during which members voted on a number of special resolutions.

“After more than 31 years of representing and promoting the profit-to-member super sector, AIST will close its doors this week to make way for the creation of a new peak body, the Super Members Council of Australia,” AIST said in a statement.

“The board of AIST and the staff wish to thank the members for their commitment and support of the organisation and its many activities over the course of our existence. It has been our pleasure to serve you.”

The purpose of the EGM, AIST explained, was “to consider, and, if thought fit, to pass a number of special resolutions to initiate the process of a members’ voluntary liquidation to close its operations ahead of the planned transition to the creation of a new entity”.

AIST confirmed that all the resolutions considered at the meeting passed with the necessary votes and noted that it would now enter into a members’ voluntary liquidation.

Of the votes, 96.7 per cent were made in favour of AIST being wound up voluntarily by way of members’ voluntary winding up. This resolution required at least 75 per cent of the votes cast to be in favour for it to pass.

Meanwhile, other resolutions relating to the liquidation process each received more than 96 per cent of votes in favour.

The Super Members Council of Australia brings together funds of all sizes and represents more than 10 million Australians with more than $1.4 trillion in assets. It will be operational from 1 October 2023.

According to AIST and ISA, the new body will build on the two organisations’ “impressive legacies” while also bringing “a new focus for the contemporary Australian economy”.

The body’s foundation funds are eight of Australia’s largest: Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper, Aware Super, Cbus Super, HESTA, Hostplus, Rest Super, and UniSuper.

“The Super Members Council will advocate for the interests of the more than 10 million Australians who belong to a profit-to-member super fund – to ensure superannuation policy is stable, effective, and equitable,” interim chair Nicola Roxon said last week.

“The nature of work and the workforce itself are changing, as are patterns and expectations in retirement. As many members’ balances grow, those in lower-paid or less-secure work risk being left behind.”

The eight founding funds have each nominated a director to the governing board, while three further directors will be chosen by the small- to medium-sized profit-to-member funds. An employee and employer representative will also join as non-voting directors while the search is currently underway for a chief executive officer.