MELBOURNE, March 28, 2026, 04:16 AEDT
HESTA came under fresh pressure on March 27 after ABC reported that Grow Inc, the fund’s administration provider, had nearly A$45 million in total liabilities and about A$24 million in assets in its latest accounts, days after HESTA said chief operating officer Stephen Reilly would leave in June. The two developments sharpen questions around service continuity at one of Australia’s biggest retirement funds. 1
The timing matters because HESTA, a major player in Australia’s compulsory retirement-savings system known as superannuation, is still working through the fallout from its 2025 switch to Grow. APRA said in December the move “caused direct harm to members” and exposed weaknesses in the fund’s governance and risk oversight; the regulator says HESTA has about 1.1 million members and roughly A$100 billion under management. 2
That leaves the fund trying to manage supplier risk and succession at once. HESTA bought a minority stake in Grow in January, according to ABC and Investment Magazine, while Debby Blakey said on Feb. 9 she would step down as CEO in the second half of 2026 after more than a decade in the role. 1
ABC said auditors had raised “significant doubt” in each of Grow’s past three financial reports about its ability to continue as a going concern, an accounting term used when there is doubt over whether a business can keep operating without fresh support. The broadcaster later published a correction saying Grow maintains it can pay debts when they fall due, and amended an earlier reference to insolvency. 1
The issue reaches beyond HESTA. ABC reported that NGS Super, another Grow client, provided the administrator with a A$30 million debt facility, with A$20 million drawn last September, and said Grow also handles administration for Vanguard Super Australia. 1
Ryan Dufty, a financial services lawyer and former senior regulatory manager in Vanguard’s U.S. internal audit division, told ABC the most worrying sign was that Grow’s last two major client onboardings needed “some form of financial support” from those clients. Mary Delahunty, chief executive of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, struck a more measured note, calling administration a “difficult and complex business” where competition still matters. 1
HESTA has defended the choice. In comments cited by ABC and Investment Magazine, the fund said the switch to Grow reflected “external advice, due diligence” and a need for newer technology, adding that it had already seen Grow’s platform through Mercy Super’s merger into HESTA in late 2022. 1
Reilly’s exit adds to the churn. HESTA said on March 24 that the executive, who joined in 2015 and oversaw digital technology, information security, insurance and investment operations, would leave “to pursue external opportunities”; Investment Magazine said he was the third C-suite executive to depart in less than 12 months, after Blakey and former chief risk officer Andrew Major. 3
The downside scenario for HESTA is mainly operational. If Grow needs more capital, or if the fund is pushed into a contingency plan, costs could rise and APRA scrutiny could intensify; David Bell of the Conexus Institute also told ABC that HESTA’s role as both client and shareholder could create conflicts if Grow’s priorities diverge from members’ interests. 2
For now, neither HESTA nor the wider super sector has a clean answer. After a bruising 2025 migration, a supplier under financial strain and two top jobs opening up in the same year, the fund appears to have little room for another stumble. 2
