HESTA pays ASIC infringement notices alleging misleading statements about carbon emissions

The trustee for the HESTA superfund, H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd (HESTA), has paid $37,560 to comply with two infringement notices issued by ASIC for misleading statements.

ASIC alleged HESTA made misleading statements in paid advertisements about its commitment to removing carbon emissions investment.

Between 15 April 2021 to 18 December 2024, HESTA placed paid advertisements on the Google and Bing search platforms which stated, 'HESTA is committed to remove all investment in carbon emissions by 2050….'

The advertisement was linked to the 'Why Join' page on the HESTA website.

ASIC was concerned that the advertisements represented that HESTA planned to remove all investment in carbon emissions by 2050 when that was not HESTA's plan. Instead, HESTA's target was to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its investment portfolio by 2050 which is different to removing all investments in carbon as net zero can be achieved through offsetting.

ASIC's Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, 'In making the representations, HESTA overstated its commitment to reducing investment in carbon emissions.'

'Consumers relying on HESTA's representation may have been denied the opportunity to make informed decisions about their preferred superannuation provider when HESTA gave a false impression that its commitment to reducing carbon emissions was more ambitious than it actually was.'

HESTA reported the incident to ASIC.

HESTA paid the infringement notices on 3 November 2025. Payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability.

The specific reasons for ASIC's concerns are set out in the two infringement notices which have been published on the Credit and ASIC Act infringements notices register.

Background

HESTA is an industry super fund with more than 1.05 million members and close to $100 billion in assets.

The below are examples of advertisements the subject of ASIC's infringement notices.

In 2023, ASIC issued three infringement notices to HESTA for alleged false or misleading statements about the performance figures of its 'Balanced Growth' superannuation investment option (23-299MR).

ASIC has previously issued infringement notices to other licensees in response to concerns about alleged greenwashing including against Morningstar (23-324MR), Future Super (23-110MR) Diversa Trustees Limited (22-379MR), Northern Trust Asset Management (23-344MR) and Melbourne Securities Limited (24-029MR).

ASIC also recently commenced a greenwashing-related civil penalty proceeding in the Supreme Court of NSW against Fiducian Investment Management Services Limited (25-225MR).

ASIC's Information Sheet 271 (INFO 271) provides information for responsible entities of managed funds and super fund trustees about how to avoid greenwashing when offering or promoting sustainability-related or ethical products and investments.