First Nations Australians are being systematically excluded from accessing their superannuation — in retirement, during hardship, and even after death — according to new research from Super Consumers Australia and Mob Strong Debt Help.

The report, which surveyed 99 First Nations consumers in the Eastern Arnhem region and consulted 19 financial counsellors nationwide, has revealed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are twice as likely to have unclaimed or lost superannuation compared to the national average, often experiencing discriminatory policies and rigid regulatory designs which often lock them out of their own money.

It concludes that Australia's $4 trillion super system is failing Indigenous people.

Mob Strong Debt Help's Senior Solicitor, Mark Holden, said super is intended to be "a retirement safety net for all Australians," but that's not the reality for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

"Too many First Nations peoples are shut out of a system that is meant to serve us," he said.

"Rigid ID verification rules, culturally unsafe customer service and a reliance on digital-only processes means it can take our mob months or even years to access their own money, if they are still alive."

Barriers identified in the report include inflexible identity requirements, cultural insensitivity in customer service, and significantly slower processing times for death benefit claims made by Indigenous families.

"It seems to be incredibly rare to come across a superannuation service who has someone who speaks an Aboriginal language, and it's not often you encounter someone who understands some of the challenges of a member who is living in a remote Aboriginal community, having limited to no English or technology literacy, and limited access to services," the report states.

Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network (ICAN) financial counsellor, Alex Price-Busch, said navigating the super system has real-life consequences for the people he supports.

"We spend hours on the phone to super funds or the ATO [Australian Taxation Office], trying to help clients who are struggling to access their super when they're doing it tough," Mr Price-Busch said.

"We see families fighting to claim death benefits while grieving. Many just give up because it's too hard."

According to figures cited in the report from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), just 69 per cent of non-retired First Nations people had super in 2022, compared to 87 per cent of non-Indigenous Australians. The median super balance for First Nations people was $22,000 — barely a third of the national average.

More than half of the First Nations consumers surveyed said they were unable to reach their super fund, while 42 per cent said they didn't understand the information they were given. Many respondents were unaware of how much super they had or where it was located.

One financial counsellor described a case where a client lacked sufficient ID to meet the fund's requirements, noting: "I complained about this, but the person on the phone still had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude."

In another case, a First Nations counsellor recounted helping an older client whose application was delayed due to discrepancies in his personal details.

"English is his second or third language. The call centre person asks to speak to him to get his consent to proceed, but he can't understand them," the counsellor said.

"The call centre person told me I can't say anything to this client, even though I was just trying to explain what the call centre person was asking him."

Super Consumers Australia CEO Xavier O'Halloran said these experiences were not isolated, but instead reflect systemic issues which disproportionately impact First Nations people and others facing similar barriers.

"It's a system that disproportionately shuts out First Nations peoples and anyone else who might be an older Australian, living remotely, experiencing vulnerability or have language barriers," he said.

"The government and super industry must act now to fix it."

The report makes several recommendations, including introducing mandatory customer service standards for super funds, increasing funding for financial counselling and legal support for Indigenous clients, and requiring the ATO and super funds to provide culturally safe support services — particularly during ID verification.

Senior financial counselling and strategy lead from Mob Strong Debt Help, Bettina Cooper, says whilst the system "makes it easy for funds to take people's money," it "makes it almost impossible to access it when people need it most".

"These issues have been known for decades," she said.

"There's been enough consultation and reviews. Now is the time for action."