top of page

2020, the year no-one predicted

It’s fair to say, 2020 had its share of unexpected challenges.

Put your hand up if you ever thought you saw a pandemic coming this time last year? Not me that’s for sure. But I’m pleased to say our business has come through, what feels like the other side, stronger than ever.

I’m proud of our team who have proven they are agile and open to change. As a leader, I’ve seen our investment in cloud-based infrastructure pay-off, not only for our clients but for our employees as well.

  • Our team seamlessly switched to a work-from-home arrangement overnight.

  • Our business continuity plans stood up to the test.

  • Our clients continued to receive the support and service they were used to.

  • And we made it possible for hundreds of thousands of Australians to get the financial support they needed by facilitating Job-Keeper payments via our Single Touch Payroll solution.

From a platform point of view, we continue to invest in technology, so it continues to be the best in the market to support your business needs. Highlights include:

  • EmployerPay Clearinghouse was used to pay 47 million contributions in the last 12 months (up 6%) on behalf of 162,000 employers and 3m employees

  • EmployerPay STP was used by 17,000 employers to send 65 million STP messages to the ATO on behalf of 3.3 million employees (up 86%)

  • One of our partners broke through the 1 million superannuation contributions per month threshold

  • The first implementation of InsuranceStream with MLC Life, a solution to help transform insurance information across the eco-system

  • Automating the transition to our next generation EmployerPay SuperStream Clearinghouse portal for employers

  • Helping MLC Wealth Plum employers transition onto our EmployerPay clearinghouse and implementing our Contribution and Rollover Gateway solutions with them

  • Being appointed by Aware Super to provide Clearinghouse and STP solutions to their employers

  • Appointing our first employee in the UK

On the way

  • MIGV3

  • Your Super, Your Future Reforms

  • STP Phase 2

  • Digital ID and Verification Services

  • e-Invoicing

If this is what we can achieve during a pandemic, I can’t wait for next year.

Stuart Korchinski, CEO, SuperChoice




 

Our Executive team share their thoughts on 2020



John Halls

Chief Technology Officer

What’s an average day look like for you?

Like most people, I spend my days in lots of meetings and talking with people. If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of your business, the key is to listen.

Hear the feedback, entertain the ideas of your team and colleagues and you'll foster a culture of positive communication.


Tell me about a project you’re most proud of this year?

We’ve successfully bid on a number of projects this year and I have been involved in putting together the Response for Proposals (RFP). When putting together the answers, it reinforced my belief that we made the right strategic call six years ago when we invested in cloud-based technology and micro-services architecture.

What’s on your radar for 2021?

One thing we know about technology is that it doesn’t standstill. In 2021, we’ll focus on evolving our technology even further. There’s a lot of development in the pipeline, improvements to internal practices, enhancements to the tech, and new product development. I believe this will help to cement our position as the best provider in this space.

It’s fair to say we spent a lot of 2020 on zoom calls. What was the best thing you learned about your colleagues?


That people have lives outside of work. I’ve actually enjoyed seeing kids gate-crash their parent’s meeting because someone is not sharing the lego!

Where is the place you most want to go once travel restrictions are lifted?

New Zealand. It’s time to see some family. As a father to young kids who adore their grandparents, it’s really tough to explain why they can’t see them.

 

David Bentley

Financial Controller

What’s an average working day at home look like for you?

I’m definitely not a morning person that’s for sure. Working from home, my day starts around 8.30 am after breakfast spent checking emails and planning my day. Luckily for me, I don’t have to spend my life on Zoom. My finance and compliance work is fairly hands on – so most of my time is spent making sure deadlines are met, reports are created, and that we’re on top of things. My dog enjoys having me working from home. When I get to lunchtime (after too many hours of sitting), I get a stretch by taking my dog for one of his many daily walks. In the afternoons, there are daily tasks and admin that must get done. I keep going until around 5 pm when my golden retriever starts making eyes at me to take him for another walk before he gets his dinner. I keep working until 7 pm when I’ve earned my dinner! If it’s busy I may skip TV and check a few more things before, guess what, the dog and I do a final round of the park before bedtime. Such is work-life balance!


Meet Kin. We can understand why David can't resist those puppy eyes.


Tell me about a project you’re most proud of this year?

I’m most proud of how seamlessly the business was able to transition to a work from home arrangement. I’m especially proud of my team who dispersed to their homes, didn’t drop any balls. and continued to support me and the business as if nothing had happened. Technology helped of course. But it’s the people who do the work, and most of them are working longer hours than they did in the office.

What’s on your radar for 2021?

More of the same, but like most, I’m looking forward to a long holiday and hopefully getting to travel again. I was booked to go to Scotland via Hong Kong this year, so that’s still on the list but not until COVID is well and truly under control. Somehow Bowral via Dixon Street isn’t the same. Maybe in 2022?

It’s fair to say we spent a lot of 2020 on zoom calls. What was the best thing you learned about your colleagues?

I learned that some staff have fantastic home offices, some work in snowy mountains, others overlook golf courses or boat marinas, and one of them is a Jedi.


 

Gordon Sparrow

Chief Commercial Officer




What’s an average day look like for you?

On a good day, it starts at about 4.30 am with a run, before entering the land of Zoom.

Each day is different. Every client challenge presents in a unique way that makes for a varied and rewarding rollercoaster of conversations, aimed at helping solve problems.


What’s on your radar for 2021?

Every day brings new opportunities to learn and develop both personally and as an organisation.

I’m looking forward to helping the team continuously expand their ability to solve complex problems for clients.


If 2020 was a movie, what would you call it?

Probably something like The Matrix. It has been an odd assortment of watching a parallel universe through other people’s reality, overlaid with living out my own reality in a changing paradigm. A little surreal!



 

Andrew Callus

Chief Product Officer


What’s an average day look like for you?

Our little girl wakes us early, so no sleep in for me. Coffee gets me going. Lot’s of coffee.

Managing a remote team this year has meant my day includes many a zoom meeting to check-in that projects are on track, solutions are being delivered and our clients are happy.


I have been coming into the office a few days a week and it’s great to be amongst it again. Especially when the city has been so quiet and there’s not much traffic on the roads (famous last words).

Tell me about a project you’re most proud of this year?

To be honest, there’s not one project that stands out because most of what we’re doing right now is all about continual improvement.


But I am proud of my team and how well they adjusted to working from home, still delivering what was needed and that was all due to the technology we’d put in place.

What’s on your radar for 2021?

Picking up where we left off in December 2020 where we continue to evolve our product offerings to our customers.

Where is the place you most want to go once travel restrictions are lifted?

Missed out on my usual European holiday this year, so we plan to use our travel credits to visit more of Australia. First up will be Hamilton Island. Then we'll see where the year takes us.