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Jess Chen wearing black blazer on stage speaking at Actuaries Institute event.

All Actuaries Summit 2026

The Actuaries Institute hosted the All Actuaries Summit from 25 - 27 May 2026 in Melbourne. Browse slides, audio and video recordings from the event.

All Actuaries Summit 2026 content
Papers

4 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Making all the right noise - Using diffusion deep learning models to perform multivariate prediction for simulation and reserving

As AI adoption accelerates, there is continued interest in adapting ideas to new contexts to see how deep learning models can be applied. For actuaries, there is an ongoing opportunity for new models to handle multivariate prediction problems where there are important dependencies between outputs. Examples include: claims reserving (estimating a suite of accident and development period combinations), pricing (where different risks are estimated and combined into a risk price), microsimulation (where many different characteristics are simulated over time in a consistent way) and DFA models (where different parameters will evolve over time to determine capital positions, with strong correlations across measures). Diffusion models are a common deep learning approach, particularly in image generation. Starting with random variation, a trained model will successively ‘de-noise’ a dataset until it resembles something coherent. In many cases they outperform other model structures, including in a small number of research papers testing applicability to tabular data. Our paper applies diffusion models to two key actuarial problems. First, we apply diffusion to microsimulation, where interrelated outcomes must be jointly predicted. The diffusion setup significantly outperforms the GAN and VAE model approaches explored in our 2025 summit paper (Gains ratio on a discriminator model of 28%, compared to about 70% for prior models), at the expense of speed. Second, we reformulate reserving using actuarial triangles as a deep learning image completion problem and obtain promising results on a database of historical data. Results are reasonable, although some tail misfit is evident – comparable with results seen elsewhere in the literature. The models represent an important contribution, with the potential to substantially simplify the training of complex systems, as well as augmenting standard actuarial practice. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time such diffusion models have been applied in an actuarial context.

Hugh Miller, Justin Sik Kwok Wong and Callum Sleigh

14 April 2026
Papers

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: One Risk, Two Systems

Rising disability care costs in ageing societies have intensified debate about whether publicly funded systems can simultaneously be person-centred, fiscally sustainable and equitable. This paper provides causal evidence that early access to individualised disability support, through Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), meaningfully reduces future aged care utilisation, healthcare costs, and mortality. Using a difference-in-differences-in-discontinuity design that exploits the NDIS’s staggered regional rollout and its strict age-65 eligibility cutoff, and drawing on population-level linked administrative data covering 641,000 individuals, we find that NDIS participation reduces residential aged care entry by 12.1 percentage points, home care package receipt by 21.0 percentage points, and monthly health system costs by $700 per participant. Critically, these effects compound over time. For the cohort close to age 65, annual fiscal savings of almost $30,000 (22.5% of program costs) compound over time to generate a Marginal Value of Public Funds of 0.462, consistent with in-kind transfer programs governments routinely fund.

Maathumai Ranjan

25 May 2026
Papers

8 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Life insurance applications of Bayesian models

The aim of this paper is to motivate life insurance actuaries to explore how Bayesian methods can become part of actuarial practice. We will introduce Bayesian approaches, highlighting how they differ from more traditional frequentist methods and why they can be advantageous. We will discuss their flexibility in handling complex models, their natural treatment of uncertainty through posterior distributions, and their ability to incorporate expert judgment or external information via priors. Bayesian methods can allow actuaries to solve actuarial problems in ways that are often difficult under traditional approaches. For example, they allow actuaries to quantify the full distribution of outcomes rather than relying solely on point estimates or asymptotic approximations. They also adapt well to situations with sparse data, shifting business practices, or environments where existing knowledge can add meaningful insights. These strengths can improve decision-making in contexts such as pricing, reserving, and capital modelling, where understanding the range and drivers of uncertainty is critical. Bayesian methods remain underused in life insurance practice. Barriers include the perception that Bayesian models are complex, the high computational burden, and a lack of familiarity among actuaries. However, with the growth of modern statistical software, advances in Markov Chain Monte Carlo and increasing exposure in other actuarial domains such as general insurance, these hurdles are diminishing. We believe that there is opportunity for life actuaries to adopt Bayesian methods more widely. To illustrate this, the paper will present two case studies. The first will examine Bayesian approaches to experience investigations, showing how Bayesian modelling can address sparse data and credibility challenges. The second will explore prediction of incurred but not reported (IBNR) claims, highlighting how prior information and uncertainty quantification can improve insights.

Colin Yellowlees and Tikiri Appuhamy

1 May 2026
Papers

3 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Reimagining Health Economics: Actuarial Pathways to Sustainable Care

This paper introduces the Actuarial Risk Architecture for Comprehensive Health (ARCH) as a comparative actuarial diagnostic that distinguishes value-based care maturity from longrun fiscal sustainability. ARCH assesses system sustainability across four dimensions — Adequacy, Resilience, Capacity, and Horizon — and is applied to Australia, the United States, and India alongside a companion Actuarial VBC Maturity Model that maps each system’s progression from fee-for-service to population-based payment. Existing healthsystem frameworks describe components; ARCH is designed to diagnose which financing constraint is binding for the next feasible reform step. The framework reframes healthsystem diagnostics in terms of capital adequacy, shock-absorption capacity, and riskadjustment integrity rather than clinical performance metrics—complementary to the WHO building-blocks and OECD resilience frameworks, but built for actuaries advising on fiscal sustainability and risk transfer rather than on clinical performance alone. The central finding is a paradox of payment sophistication. The United States has built one of the most extensive VBC architectures globally yet scores weakest on Horizon; Australia shows strong coverage foundations but a structural prevention gap and binding workforce constraints; India’s digital infrastructure creates long-run opportunity, but Resilience and riskadjustment capacity remain binding. Three applications illustrate ARCH in operation: a Behavioural Adjustment Factor (BAF) framework for prevention economics, a GLP-1 stress test of cross-system resilience, and a concrete Australian policy implication — a PHI-routed prevention fund designed as the first stage of a longer-horizon financing reform. ARCH is offered as a tool to help the actuarial profession move from measuring health system performance to designing it.

Ankit Nanda

21 April 2026
Papers

13 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Lessons from the Courtroom: Navigating Trustee Duties and Insurance Complexities

Since the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry in 2018 (the Royal Commission), litigation in the superannuation sector, including insurance in superannuation, has intensified. Recent and ongoing class actions and regulator enforcement now target practices that may breach core trustee obligations. This paper explores the landscape: • What were the issues facing recent legal proceedings? • Did governance, systems, or behaviour fail? • What lessons emerge from these failures? • What duties do trustees (and insurers) owe to members in offering group insurance, especially in areas where consent or disclosure is ambiguous? • Beyond the headline cases, are there latent risks still under the radar? • What role do actuaries have in reducing legal, operational, and reputational risks? • Looking forward, what might ‘good practice’ look like?

Jeff Humphreys and Karen Lau

17 April 2026
Papers

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Stripping unnecessary complexity from the retirement process

This paper examines how complexity in the processes followed in retirement can be reduced without significantly compromising equity or fiscal sustainability. The processes involve navigating tax, age pension and home and aged care benefits and means tests. It argues that the current system imposes unnecessary administrative and behavioural burdens on retirees, advisers, industry and government agencies. Telephone waiting times on calls to Centrelink can be over an hour on most days. Reform cannot be considered without addressing the egregious inequities in the treatment of renters against homeowners; the impact of the asset test that penalises saving; effective marginal tax rates of over 100% for age pensioners still working and the 100,000 people on waiting lists for home care packages. The paper proposes a series of reforms guided by principles of simplicity, materiality, and lifecycle equity. Key recommendations include integrating income and asset tests through a unified framework, abolishing seventeen minor concessions and allowances, harmonising tax and welfare systems and home and aged care settings. A more radical alternative—abolishing both means testing and superannuation tax concessions—is also considered, drawing on international comparisons such as New Zealand. While acknowledging transitional and political challenges, The paper concludes that meaningful simplification is both feasible and necessary to improve efficiency, fairness, and decision-making in retirement.

Anthony Asher

17 April 2026
Papers

8 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Navigating the Electric Vehicle Environment: E Bikes and E-Scooters

The increasing adoption of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) across Australia is leading to a diverse and everchanging landscape. PMDs are small, electrically powered devices, designed for a singular user to travel short distances. They typically include devices such as electric scooters (e-scooters), electric bikes (e-bikes) and electric skateboards (e skateboards). More broadly, their increased adoption represents a sustainable, affordable and efficient alternative to traditional transportation methods; promoting healthier lifestyles whilst creating efficient solutions to common infrastructure issues including traffic congestion and the ‘last mile’ problem. However, the rapid adoption of PDMs has also introduced various new and distinct challenges for insurers, regulators, policymakers and urban planners. Different licensing, road and vehicle design laws have created significant different experiences between Australian states and territories. PMDs can exhibit vastly different risk characteristics to other forms of conventional transport due to their unconventional design, rider behaviour and vehicle usage. Road infrastructure and urban environments, state-based legislation, interactions with pedestrians and other road users and the implementation of telematics all have the propensity to further influence risk profiles, thereby creating further complexities for insurers. With a focus on e-bikes and e-scooters; this paper considers the academic literature to look at their different risks characteristics and contributing factors - which includes the regulation on licensing, PMD designs, road use (helmets and speed limits) and road infrastructure. A review of Australian injury data provides a better understanding of their risks for physical injury and fire damage. Lastly, the paper illustrates the insurance gap that presently exists for Australian PMD users given the current insurance regulations and design of the Compulsory Third Party and Workers Compensation schemes.

Lachlan Clark

17 April 2026
Papers

4 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Beyond our means? A distributional approach to assessing actuarial reserving in general insurance

Fundamentally, actuaries are asked to put a number to uncertain future events. We spend a lot of effort quantifying this uncertainty to provide a range of reasonable outcomes. As part of standard valuation work, actuaries will present a central estimate alongside a metric for uncertainty, for example, a quantile of the loss distribution in the form of a risk margin or a risk adjustment. A core part of the actuarial control cycle is the monitoring and assessment of the models against experience. In practice, this is focussed on the central estimate, with less emphasis placed on the distribution. “Actual vs Expected” analysis assesses the percentage variation against the central estimate, with a layer of actuarial judgement applied to justify the materiality of any differences (e.g. based on portfolio maturity, size of book, known events). This is likely sufficient in many cases but in situations where the modelling decisions/results are less clear cut, we wanted to explore the ability to leverage the distributional thinking already performed at past valuations to provide a better data-driven assessment to support judgement. It turns out that this isn't as simple as just applying the overall risk margin to the central estimate and backing out some quantiles. This is because: • The central estimate models are almost always different from the risk margin models • Risk margins include consideration of systemic risk which may not be in the historical data • Adjustments in central estimate models (e.g. blending or accounting for data quality/scarcity) means analytical expressions can be hard to derive explicitly • Allocation - how do you allocate a risk margin calculated for the full projection period, to just the next reporting period? In this paper, we describe an approach to calculate a distribution for each cell in the projection (or the combination of cells you are interested in). Most importantly, the additional time and effort required to do this analysis is minimal; much of it would already be part of your standard valuation pipeline. Having access to these distributions opens up a number of areas where "distributional hindsight analysis" can be useful to help support actuarial decision making by adding statistical rigour (because you can't do statistical tests on X% above the mean). Examples of such decisions include: 1. When should we change our roll-forward modelling assumptions? 2. When should we revise our risk margins? 3. How outlying was the new event and does it require a post-balance date adjustment? 4. Should I analyse my new portfolio separately or should I just combine it with my current book?

Calise Liu, Andrew Song, Alan Xian

17 April 2026
Papers

7 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Beyond pairwise correlation: capturing nonlinear and higher-order dependence with distance statistics

Measuring and modelling dependence between risks is crucial in many actuarial applica tions, such as when assessing diversification benefits or setting capital requirements. Current industry practice relies heavily on Pearson’s correlation coefficient, despite well-known limita tions. In particular, it captures only linear association, is restricted to pairwise relationships, and does not naturally extend to multivariate settings involving multiple random variables or random vectors (such as when one-hot encoding categorical variables). Sole reliance on Pearson’s lin ear correlation may fail to detect important nonlinear, higher-order, and mutual dependence structures. In this paper, we discuss and illustrate several distance-based dependence statistics which do not suffer from the same limitations as correlation, and discuss how they can be used in actuarial applications. In the bivariate setting, we consider the Hellinger correlation (Geenens &LafayedeMicheaux, 2022)asatoolfor measuring dependencebetweentwocontinuousuni variate random variables, and distance covariance (Székely et al., 2007) as a tool for detecting andtesting dependence, especially when randomvectorsareinvolved. Wethendiscussexten sions to higher-dimensional settings, including joint distance covariance for assessing mutual dependence across multiple random variables (or vectors), and the auto-distance correlation function for time series applications such as forecasting mortality rates over time. Throughout the paper, we illustrate the use of these tools in actuarial contexts and we direct the reader to available software implementations. Overall, the paper aims to provide actuaries with a practical introduction to distance-based dependence statistics and to show how they can complement classical correlation-based tools in actuarial workflows.

Benjamin Avanzi, Guillaume Boglioni Beaulieu, Pierre Lafaye de Micheaux, Ho Ming Lee, Bernard Wong and Rui Zhou

17 April 2026
Papers

3 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Strategic Climate Resilience in First Nations Social Housing: Actuarial Tools for Economic and Social Impact

With climate change amplifying the frequency and severity of natural hazards—NSW recording a record 35 disaster declarations in FY 2023–24, more than any previous year—the NSW Government Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO) recognised the urgent need to enhance the resilience of its housing portfolio. In collaboration with Finity and the Resilient Building Council (RBC), the project combined dwelling-level resilience ratings, peril modelling, and wellbeing informed cost–benefit analysis to guide strategic investment in housing upgrades. This initiative is a vital step toward safeguarding First Nations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) housing stock against future climate risks. Surveys of representative properties identified resilience to flood, bushfire, storm and heat, informing targeted retrofit pathways such as re-roofing, window replacement and passive cooling. The results show that the investment case varies by peril: flood adaptation is most compelling where raising a home is feasible (within realistic limits), bushfire resilience where exposure and improvability align, and storm resilience when tenant wellbeing benefits are considered. Heat resilience emerged as a portfolio-wide priority due to substantial wellbeing gains, even where insured losses are nil. By quantifying both asset protection and tenant wellbeing outcomes, the framework demonstrates why public-sector resilience decisions should extend beyond insured losses alone. The assessment provides AHO with a robust, socially meaningful basis for undertaking property resilience upgrades, demonstrating duty of care, and prioritising investment under a changing climate. More broadly, it offers a scalable blueprint for climate adaptation in public and First Nations housing across Australia. The challenge for actuaries lies in developing funding frameworks for resilience programs and extending this work to include commercial buildings and infrastructure.

Sharanjit Paddam, Olivia Brodhurst, Kate Cotter, Evelyn Yong, Ondrej Bures, Portia Elliott

17 April 2026
Papers

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: From Data Taker to Data Generator: Introduction to Causal Inference and Randomised Control Trial Playbook

As actuaries, we rely on observational data to build models, understand historical patterns and tell stories. Those datasets show us what has happened, but rarely tell us why things happen. The why matters because it pinpoints to action and consequence, it enables decision makers to understand causal effects of changes rather than being blinded by correlations, and it provides robust policy evaluations. Understanding the why, or the cause and effect is challenging, there are techniques and methods to illuminate the hidden causal relationship, randomised controlled trial (RCT) is widely considered as the gold standard for uncovering causality, as it directly addresses the problem of endogeneity by ensuring treatment assignment is exogenous, while other causal methods such as differences-in-differences, regression discontinuity, or instrumental variables arguably suffer from the endogeneity problem to various degrees. RCT, as a method of field experiment, generates meaningful data, sharper insights and business guidance beyond what observational data can provide. It adds to the actuary's toolkit and redefines our understanding of why things happen. This paper will introduce causal inference, the endogeneity problem, an RCT playbook with practical reflections, and a case study, which hopefully will inspire more actuaries to explore and embrace the spirit of experimentation.

Laura Zhao and Fei Huang

17 April 2026
Papers

4 CPD Points

Summit 2026: An Interpretable Deep Learning Model for General Insurance Pricing

The rapid advancement of machine learning has provided an opportunity to transform the modeling techniques in actuarial analytics. Novel machine learning methods, especially deep learning, have demonstrated versatile modeling capability and superiorpredictive performancecomparedtotraditionalactuarialapproachessuchasGeneralizedLinear Models. However, the widespread adoption of deep learning techniques in the insurance industry is often hindered by the lack of model interpretability, as the intricacies of their inner workings remain obscured behind the complex model architecture. This lack of interpretability is further complicated by the absence of a generally accepted definition of what an interpretable model is. There are also various practical requirements, such as smoothness and monotonicity, that a pricing model in general insurance should possess in addition to being interpretable. This paper introduces the Actuarial Neural Additive Model, an inherently interpretable deep learning model for general insurance pricing that offers fully transparent and interpretable results while retaining the strong predictive power of neural networks. This model assigns a dedicated neural network (or subnetwork) to each individual covariate and pairwise interaction term to independently learn its impact on the modeled output while implementing various architectural constraints to allow for essential interpretability (e.g. sparsity) and practical requirements (e.g. smoothness, monotonicity) in insurance applications. The development of our model is grounded in a solid foundation, where we establish a concrete definition of interpretability within the insurance context, complemented by a rigorous mathematical framework. Comparisons in terms of prediction accuracy are made with traditional actuarial and state of-the-art machine learning methods using both synthetic and real insurance datasets. The results show that the proposed model outperforms other methods in most cases while offering complete transparency in its internal logic, underscoring the strong interpretability and predictive capability.

Patrick J. Laub, Tu Pho, Bernard Wong

17 April 2026
Papers

7 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Towards Fairer Retirement Outcomes: Health Related Mortality Modelling

Accurate mortality prediction underpins actuarial practice, informing insurance pricing, retirement income planning, and product design. Building on recent evidence of socio-economic mortality differentials in Australia (Huang, Hui and Villegas, 2025), this study extends that framework by incorporating health-related variables for retirees and distilling them into a transparent Health Index. Using the ABS Personal Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA), linked to Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits records, we develop interpretable models that integrate the Health Index as an additional factor within the existing socio-economic model. By grouping individuals into risk-based cohorts, the approach mitigates adverse selection risks and preserves equity in risk pooling. Exploratory analysis shows that mortality risk rises steadily with higher healthcare use, further increased by comorbidity and polypharmacy, but are partly offset by regular preventive care. Notably, pain medication exposure is associated with an approximately threefold higher observed mortality compared with non-exposed peers, which aligns with the rise in opioid-related deaths over the study window and may reflect addiction. Furthermore, preliminary modelling results demonstrate significant gains in accuracy and fairness, with direct implications for fairer retirement outcomes and improved management of longevity risk. To facilitate adoption, our proposed methodology translates complex models into a concise set of health-related questions potentially suitable for underwriting, bridging actuarial modelling, and health data analytics. This work complements existing socio-economic mortality research, and provides new insights into health-related mortality, offering a foundation for more accurate, transparent, and equitable retirement outcomes in Australia.

Pramo Samarasinghe, Fei Huang, Francis KC Hui, Andrés M Villegas

16 April 2026
Papers

4 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Fairness Testing for Insurance Pricing: A Statistical Inference Framework

Ensuring fairness in insurance pricing has become a central concern for regulators, insurers, and the public. Existing approaches often rely on descriptive disparity measures or significance testing without explicit reference to fairness concepts or acceptable tolerances, leading to fragmented practices and ambiguous conclusions. We develop a unified framework that grounds fairness testing in classical statistical inference, providing clear definitions, reproducible methods, and auditable protocols. Our framework advances fairness testing along four key dimensions. First, we formalise widely discussed fairness criteria as hypotheses on identifiable estimands, making fairness notions statistically precise. Second, we introduce decision rules that incorporate explicit tolerance thresholds, reflecting regulatory standards in practice. Third, we propose inference procedures that bridge actuarial practice with fairness guarantees. Fourth, we design a quote-audit protocol that specifies how to collect, test, and validate fairness claims in a manner that is transparent and replicable. By combining inferential rigour with regulatory practicality, our approach delivers a coherent methodology that both regulators and insurers can implement. The framework integrates uncertainty quantification and audit design into a single pipeline, ensuring that fairness tests are interpretable, reproducible, and statistically robust. Beyond pricing, the principles extend to approval outcomes and process measures, providing a flexible foundation for responsible insurance analytics. The result is a regulator- and insurer-ready framework that aligns fairness testing with statistical guarantees and supports the broader goal of accountable and transparent insurance practices.

Fei Huang and Giles Hooker

15 April 2026
Papers

3 CPD Points

Summit 2026: All is Fair in Love and War….but not in general insurance

There is a well-known quote suggesting that love and war are so important and overwhelming that people should be excused for acting in their own best interest. But general insurance is neither a battlefield nor a romance - it's a relationship built on trust, where fairness must prevail over self interest. In his October 2024 dialogue paper, “Fairness in Insurance”, Ian Laughlin challenged insurance Boards to elevate customer fairness as a strategic priority. This paper shifts the lens to explore the critical role general insurance actuaries can—and should—play in delivering fairer outcomes. Laughlin recognised that Boards occupy a unique vantage point for ensuring fair customer treatment, and identified fairness as a "natural area of interest" for actuaries. But what are the obligations and rules of fairness which apply to general insurance actuaries? This paper examines what practitioners need to know about fairness and what they could, or should, be doing to achieve this objective in practice. While Laughlin noted that Boards benefit from sitting "above the fray" with greater objectivity than management, this paper argues that general insurance actuaries are equally well positioned—if not better placed—to balance competing interests. Working in the front lines where pricing, underwriting, and claims decisions are made, general insurance actuaries can serve as vital arbiters of fairness, translating principle into practice where it matters most.

Jacqueline Reid

16 April 2026
Papers

4 CPD Points

Summit 2026: The Failure Metric

This paper is about a life insurance industry we could build if more failure was encouraged. Life insurers, in contrast to many other industries, have the distinct advantage of being cashflow rich and able to make really long-term bets. Yet we struggle to point to many groundbreaking innovative and successful changes. Many believe that the most recent were the introduction of trauma products, developed in the 1980’s, but since then change has arguably been a series of tweaks or partial adoptions rather than another seismic shift. And every seasoned market participant can tell you a story about how they have once been burned by an initiative or product that sold only a few policies or led to a major loss. This paper explores some of the global life insurance product failures, their hidden stories and their key lessons. It suggests that we actually have a different time lens to work with and regardless of whether the innovations succeed or not, the problems they are solving haven’t changed. It recognises that we can’t have innovation without failure and proposes a metric to be used to encourage, measure and reward failure which has its base the idea that innovating is all about trying to fail.

Ilan Leas

2 April 2026

Latest past event content

Browse the most recently published audio, video and presentation slides for all events.

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Video

2 CPD Points

Bridging the Longevity Divide

Join us as we explore the findings of the Actuaries Institute’s recently published dialogue paper, Bridging the Longevity Divide. This session unpacks new research based on individual-level linked data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The findings reveal substantial disparities in mortality and life expectancy across socio-economic groups, measured by area-level disadvantage, income, gender, marital status, and home ownership. At age 60, the gap in life expectancy between the most and least advantaged Australians exceeds a decade. The session explores how these differences translate into retirement income outcomes and discusses the implications for the design, pricing, and valuation of longevity products. It examines why a uniform approach may unintentionally disadvantage some groups as the market expands, and considers the opportunities offered by more risk-based approaches to product design and pricing. The presentation will also discuss the practical challenges of implementing these approaches, including consumer behaviour, interactions with the Age Pension, financial literacy, access to advice, and the broader policy and market considerations that will shape the future of Australia's retirement income system. Whether you work in retirement income, life insurance, superannuation, product development, or public policy, this session will provide valuable evidence and practical insights into one of the most important challenges facing Australia's ageing population.

Philip Clark and Dr Fei Huang

8 October 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Bridging the Longevity Divide

Join us as we explore the findings of the Actuaries Institute’s recently published dialogue paper, Bridging the Longevity Divide. This session unpacks new research based on individual-level linked data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The findings reveal substantial disparities in mortality and life expectancy across socio-economic groups, measured by area-level disadvantage, income, gender, marital status, and home ownership. At age 60, the gap in life expectancy between the most and least advantaged Australians exceeds a decade. The session explores how these differences translate into retirement income outcomes and discusses the implications for the design, pricing, and valuation of longevity products. It examines why a uniform approach may unintentionally disadvantage some groups as the market expands, and considers the opportunities offered by more risk-based approaches to product design and pricing. The presentation will also discuss the practical challenges of implementing these approaches, including consumer behaviour, interactions with the Age Pension, financial literacy, access to advice, and the broader policy and market considerations that will shape the future of Australia's retirement income system. Whether you work in retirement income, life insurance, superannuation, product development, or public policy, this session will provide valuable evidence and practical insights into one of the most important challenges facing Australia's ageing population.

Philip Clark and Dr Fei Huang

8 October 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Australian Mortality: COVID substitution effects & ongoing improvement lag

This presentation will provide an update of the work undertaken by the Mortality Subcommittee. The Australian mortality experience for 2025 will be presented and compared to the baseline expectation that the subcommittee set earlier in the year, with areas of higher or lower than expected mortality by cause, age and gender. This will then be put in the context of experience since 2015, showing the impact of COVID on mortality improvement trends and what has happened since.

Matt Ralph

29 September 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Australian Mortality: COVID substitution effects & ongoing improvement lag

This presentation will provide an update of the work undertaken by the Mortality Subcommittee. The Australian mortality experience for 2025 will be presented and compared to the baseline expectation that the subcommittee set earlier in the year, with areas of higher or lower than expected mortality by cause, age and gender. This will then be put in the context of experience since 2015, showing the impact of COVID on mortality improvement trends and what has happened since.

Matt Ralph and Danny Bechara

29 September 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

The Fair Pricing Playbook: Responsible AI for Algorithmic Insurance Pricing

Advances in AI and data science are transforming insurance pricing, enabling more accurate risk assessment, increasingly granular pricing, and improved customer outcomes. At the same time, these advances raise important questions about fairness, transparency, and accountability. Complex predictive models can inadvertently introduce indirect discrimination through data and algorithmic design, creating tensions between actuarial principles, regulatory requirements, and societal expectations. Regulators around the world are responding. For example, the EU AI Act classifies insurance risk assessment as a high-risk AI application, while jurisdictions including Colorado and New York are introducing requirements for insurers to assess pricing algorithms for unfair discrimination. This session introduces The Fair Pricing Playbook (https://fair.feihuang.org ), an open-source practical framework for developing, evaluating, and auditing algorithmic insurance pricing systems. The playbook translates recent advances in actuarial science, economics, statistics, and machine learning into a practical four-step workflow: defining an appropriate fairness objective, developing a pricing model that satisfies it, evaluating the resulting trade-offs for consumers and insurers, and auditing deployed pricing systems. Drawing on recent research in fairness metrics, anti-discrimination insurance pricing, fairness testing, and welfare analysis, the session demonstrates how responsible AI principles can be integrated into modern pricing practice through practical examples and open-source tools. It discusses the implications for the actuarial profession as AI regulation and industry expectations continue to evolve.

Dr Fei Huang, Abhijeet Agarwal and Victor Bajanov

17 September 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

The Fair Pricing Playbook: Responsible AI for Algorithmic Insurance Pricing

Advances in AI and data science are transforming insurance pricing, enabling more accurate risk assessment, increasingly granular pricing, and improved customer outcomes. At the same time, these advances raise important questions about fairness, transparency, and accountability. Complex predictive models can inadvertently introduce indirect discrimination through data and algorithmic design, creating tensions between actuarial principles, regulatory requirements, and societal expectations. Regulators around the world are responding. For example, the EU AI Act classifies insurance risk assessment as a high-risk AI application, while jurisdictions including Colorado and New York are introducing requirements for insurers to assess pricing algorithms for unfair discrimination. This session introduces The Fair Pricing Playbook (https://fair.feihuang.org ), an open-source practical framework for developing, evaluating, and auditing algorithmic insurance pricing systems. The playbook translates recent advances in actuarial science, economics, statistics, and machine learning into a practical four-step workflow: defining an appropriate fairness objective, developing a pricing model that satisfies it, evaluating the resulting trade-offs for consumers and insurers, and auditing deployed pricing systems. Drawing on recent research in fairness metrics, anti-discrimination insurance pricing, fairness testing, and welfare analysis, the session demonstrates how responsible AI principles can be integrated into modern pricing practice through practical examples and open-source tools. It discusses the implications for the actuarial profession as AI regulation and industry expectations continue to evolve.

Dr Fei Huang, Abhijeet Agarwal and Victor Bajanov

17 September 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Shaping the Future of Aged Care: Insights and Priorities for Reform

Australia's aged care sector is at an inflection point. Surging demand driven by an ageing baby boomer population, intensifying cost pressures, and a landmark new Aged Care Act — centred on the rights of older Australians to quality care — are reshaping the sector in fundamental ways. In response, the Actuaries Institute has established an Aged Care Working Group to inform policy development aimed at improving outcomes for older Australians while supporting the long-term financial sustainability of the sector. The Working Group has identified four immediate priority areas for reform: 1. Transparency of costs and quality — making it easier for consumers to understand aged care costs and meaningfully compare providers across both cost and quality metrics 2. Means testing simplification — reducing the complexity of an exceptionally complicated means-testing framework that presents a significant barrier to informed decision-making 3. Navigation and information access — developing tools and resources that help older Australians and their families access information with greater confidence 4. Provider solvency standards — establishing robust solvency standards to further strengthen the financial resilience of aged care providers over time. The working group will outline work to date in each of these areas.

Anthony Asher, Georgina Hemmings, Candice Ming, Alfie Qiang, Qiao Zhou, Catherine Nance

3 September 2026
Presentation slides

2 CPD Points

Shaping the Future of Aged Care: Insights and Priorities for Reform

Australia's aged care sector is at an inflection point. Surging demand driven by an ageing baby boomer population, intensifying cost pressures, and a landmark new Aged Care Act — centred on the rights of older Australians to quality care — are reshaping the sector in fundamental ways. In response, the Actuaries Institute has established an Aged Care Working Group to inform policy development aimed at improving outcomes for older Australians while supporting the long-term financial sustainability of the sector. The Working Group has identified four immediate priority areas for reform: 1. Transparency of costs and quality — making it easier for consumers to understand aged care costs and meaningfully compare providers across both cost and quality metrics 2. Means testing simplification — reducing the complexity of an exceptionally complicated means-testing framework that presents a significant barrier to informed decision-making 3. Navigation and information access — developing tools and resources that help older Australians and their families access information with greater confidence 4. Provider solvency standards — establishing robust solvency standards to further strengthen the financial resilience of aged care providers over time. The working group will outline work to date in each of these areas.

Anthony Asher, Georgina Hemmings, Candice Ming, Alfie Qiang, Qiao Zhou, Catherine Nance

3 September 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Quantum Computing for Actuaries

Quantum Computing could transform how we model, calculate and protect data, with applications across every area of actuarial practice. From solving complex problems beyond the reach of today’s computers to fundamentally challenging current cryptographic protections, this is a technology all actuaries need to understand at some level. In this tailored briefing, the Actuaries Institute and Quantum Australia will cover the fundamentals, realistic timelines, use cases including the intersection with AI, and what organisations should be doing now to prepare for a post-quantum world.

Presented by Anthony Lowe, Fernando Alves, Rishi Krish, Dr Maja Cassidy, Ken Hermann and Andreas Baumhof

28 July 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Quantum Computing for Actuaries

Quantum Computing could transform how we model, calculate and protect data, with applications across every area of actuarial practice. From solving complex problems beyond the reach of today’s computers to fundamentally challenging current cryptographic protections, this is a technology all actuaries need to understand at some level. In this tailored briefing, the Actuaries Institute and Quantum Australia will cover the fundamentals, realistic timelines, use cases including the intersection with AI, and what organisations should be doing now to prepare for a post-quantum world.

Anthony Lowe, Rishi Krish, Dr Maja Cassidy, Ken Hermann and Andreas Baumhof

28 July 2026

Insights event recordings and slides

Our Insights and member-only events provide actuaries with cutting-edge knowledge and future-focused updates. View all Insights content via the link below.

All Insights content
Video

2 CPD Points

Bridging the Longevity Divide

Join us as we explore the findings of the Actuaries Institute’s recently published dialogue paper, Bridging the Longevity Divide. This session unpacks new research based on individual-level linked data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The findings reveal substantial disparities in mortality and life expectancy across socio-economic groups, measured by area-level disadvantage, income, gender, marital status, and home ownership. At age 60, the gap in life expectancy between the most and least advantaged Australians exceeds a decade. The session explores how these differences translate into retirement income outcomes and discusses the implications for the design, pricing, and valuation of longevity products. It examines why a uniform approach may unintentionally disadvantage some groups as the market expands, and considers the opportunities offered by more risk-based approaches to product design and pricing. The presentation will also discuss the practical challenges of implementing these approaches, including consumer behaviour, interactions with the Age Pension, financial literacy, access to advice, and the broader policy and market considerations that will shape the future of Australia's retirement income system. Whether you work in retirement income, life insurance, superannuation, product development, or public policy, this session will provide valuable evidence and practical insights into one of the most important challenges facing Australia's ageing population.

Philip Clark and Dr Fei Huang

8 October 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Bridging the Longevity Divide

Join us as we explore the findings of the Actuaries Institute’s recently published dialogue paper, Bridging the Longevity Divide. This session unpacks new research based on individual-level linked data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The findings reveal substantial disparities in mortality and life expectancy across socio-economic groups, measured by area-level disadvantage, income, gender, marital status, and home ownership. At age 60, the gap in life expectancy between the most and least advantaged Australians exceeds a decade. The session explores how these differences translate into retirement income outcomes and discusses the implications for the design, pricing, and valuation of longevity products. It examines why a uniform approach may unintentionally disadvantage some groups as the market expands, and considers the opportunities offered by more risk-based approaches to product design and pricing. The presentation will also discuss the practical challenges of implementing these approaches, including consumer behaviour, interactions with the Age Pension, financial literacy, access to advice, and the broader policy and market considerations that will shape the future of Australia's retirement income system. Whether you work in retirement income, life insurance, superannuation, product development, or public policy, this session will provide valuable evidence and practical insights into one of the most important challenges facing Australia's ageing population.

Philip Clark and Dr Fei Huang

8 October 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Australian Mortality: COVID substitution effects & ongoing improvement lag

This presentation will provide an update of the work undertaken by the Mortality Subcommittee. The Australian mortality experience for 2025 will be presented and compared to the baseline expectation that the subcommittee set earlier in the year, with areas of higher or lower than expected mortality by cause, age and gender. This will then be put in the context of experience since 2015, showing the impact of COVID on mortality improvement trends and what has happened since.

Matt Ralph

29 September 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Australian Mortality: COVID substitution effects & ongoing improvement lag

This presentation will provide an update of the work undertaken by the Mortality Subcommittee. The Australian mortality experience for 2025 will be presented and compared to the baseline expectation that the subcommittee set earlier in the year, with areas of higher or lower than expected mortality by cause, age and gender. This will then be put in the context of experience since 2015, showing the impact of COVID on mortality improvement trends and what has happened since.

Matt Ralph and Danny Bechara

29 September 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

The Fair Pricing Playbook: Responsible AI for Algorithmic Insurance Pricing

Advances in AI and data science are transforming insurance pricing, enabling more accurate risk assessment, increasingly granular pricing, and improved customer outcomes. At the same time, these advances raise important questions about fairness, transparency, and accountability. Complex predictive models can inadvertently introduce indirect discrimination through data and algorithmic design, creating tensions between actuarial principles, regulatory requirements, and societal expectations. Regulators around the world are responding. For example, the EU AI Act classifies insurance risk assessment as a high-risk AI application, while jurisdictions including Colorado and New York are introducing requirements for insurers to assess pricing algorithms for unfair discrimination. This session introduces The Fair Pricing Playbook (https://fair.feihuang.org ), an open-source practical framework for developing, evaluating, and auditing algorithmic insurance pricing systems. The playbook translates recent advances in actuarial science, economics, statistics, and machine learning into a practical four-step workflow: defining an appropriate fairness objective, developing a pricing model that satisfies it, evaluating the resulting trade-offs for consumers and insurers, and auditing deployed pricing systems. Drawing on recent research in fairness metrics, anti-discrimination insurance pricing, fairness testing, and welfare analysis, the session demonstrates how responsible AI principles can be integrated into modern pricing practice through practical examples and open-source tools. It discusses the implications for the actuarial profession as AI regulation and industry expectations continue to evolve.

Dr Fei Huang, Abhijeet Agarwal and Victor Bajanov

17 September 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

The Fair Pricing Playbook: Responsible AI for Algorithmic Insurance Pricing

Advances in AI and data science are transforming insurance pricing, enabling more accurate risk assessment, increasingly granular pricing, and improved customer outcomes. At the same time, these advances raise important questions about fairness, transparency, and accountability. Complex predictive models can inadvertently introduce indirect discrimination through data and algorithmic design, creating tensions between actuarial principles, regulatory requirements, and societal expectations. Regulators around the world are responding. For example, the EU AI Act classifies insurance risk assessment as a high-risk AI application, while jurisdictions including Colorado and New York are introducing requirements for insurers to assess pricing algorithms for unfair discrimination. This session introduces The Fair Pricing Playbook (https://fair.feihuang.org ), an open-source practical framework for developing, evaluating, and auditing algorithmic insurance pricing systems. The playbook translates recent advances in actuarial science, economics, statistics, and machine learning into a practical four-step workflow: defining an appropriate fairness objective, developing a pricing model that satisfies it, evaluating the resulting trade-offs for consumers and insurers, and auditing deployed pricing systems. Drawing on recent research in fairness metrics, anti-discrimination insurance pricing, fairness testing, and welfare analysis, the session demonstrates how responsible AI principles can be integrated into modern pricing practice through practical examples and open-source tools. It discusses the implications for the actuarial profession as AI regulation and industry expectations continue to evolve.

Dr Fei Huang, Abhijeet Agarwal and Victor Bajanov

17 September 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Shaping the Future of Aged Care: Insights and Priorities for Reform

Australia's aged care sector is at an inflection point. Surging demand driven by an ageing baby boomer population, intensifying cost pressures, and a landmark new Aged Care Act — centred on the rights of older Australians to quality care — are reshaping the sector in fundamental ways. In response, the Actuaries Institute has established an Aged Care Working Group to inform policy development aimed at improving outcomes for older Australians while supporting the long-term financial sustainability of the sector. The Working Group has identified four immediate priority areas for reform: 1. Transparency of costs and quality — making it easier for consumers to understand aged care costs and meaningfully compare providers across both cost and quality metrics 2. Means testing simplification — reducing the complexity of an exceptionally complicated means-testing framework that presents a significant barrier to informed decision-making 3. Navigation and information access — developing tools and resources that help older Australians and their families access information with greater confidence 4. Provider solvency standards — establishing robust solvency standards to further strengthen the financial resilience of aged care providers over time. The working group will outline work to date in each of these areas.

Anthony Asher, Georgina Hemmings, Candice Ming, Alfie Qiang, Qiao Zhou, Catherine Nance

3 September 2026
Presentation slides

2 CPD Points

Shaping the Future of Aged Care: Insights and Priorities for Reform

Australia's aged care sector is at an inflection point. Surging demand driven by an ageing baby boomer population, intensifying cost pressures, and a landmark new Aged Care Act — centred on the rights of older Australians to quality care — are reshaping the sector in fundamental ways. In response, the Actuaries Institute has established an Aged Care Working Group to inform policy development aimed at improving outcomes for older Australians while supporting the long-term financial sustainability of the sector. The Working Group has identified four immediate priority areas for reform: 1. Transparency of costs and quality — making it easier for consumers to understand aged care costs and meaningfully compare providers across both cost and quality metrics 2. Means testing simplification — reducing the complexity of an exceptionally complicated means-testing framework that presents a significant barrier to informed decision-making 3. Navigation and information access — developing tools and resources that help older Australians and their families access information with greater confidence 4. Provider solvency standards — establishing robust solvency standards to further strengthen the financial resilience of aged care providers over time. The working group will outline work to date in each of these areas.

Anthony Asher, Georgina Hemmings, Candice Ming, Alfie Qiang, Qiao Zhou, Catherine Nance

3 September 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Quantum Computing for Actuaries

Quantum Computing could transform how we model, calculate and protect data, with applications across every area of actuarial practice. From solving complex problems beyond the reach of today’s computers to fundamentally challenging current cryptographic protections, this is a technology all actuaries need to understand at some level. In this tailored briefing, the Actuaries Institute and Quantum Australia will cover the fundamentals, realistic timelines, use cases including the intersection with AI, and what organisations should be doing now to prepare for a post-quantum world.

Presented by Anthony Lowe, Fernando Alves, Rishi Krish, Dr Maja Cassidy, Ken Hermann and Andreas Baumhof

28 July 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Actuaries Without Borders: Your Path to a Global Career

Australian actuaries have long been recognised as trusted advisers and influential problem‑solvers across the world, yet the global mobility that the profession offers is often overlooked. Whether you're dreaming about your first role abroad or planning an overseas move later in your career, this online discussion brings real stories and practical insights from actuaries who have already taken the leap. Join speakers who moved overseas at different stages of their journey, from fresh grads to more senior actuaries, as they share what inspired their move, how they navigated challenges, and what they wish they knew earlier. If you're even remotely considering an international chapter in your actuarial career, this is a session you won’t want to miss.

Min Hung Cheng, Andrew Samaratunge, Robert Xu and Sunnie Zhu

16 July 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Portability for Lifetime Income Streams

With the maturing of the retirement phase of superannuation, including the requirements of the Retirement Income Covenant, the superannuation and financial advice sectors are assimilating Lifetime Income Stream products into their respective offerings, including through pre-packaged and soft-default structures. To address concerns around the irrevocable nature of buying a Lifetime Income Stream, the presenter, Adam Butt (and co-author Jim Hennington), has explored the idea of portability of Lifetime Income Streams in an Actuaries Digital article. Since the publication of that article, Adam and Jim have drafted and sought and incorporated feedback on a “Prudential Blueprint for an Australian Lifetime-income Transfer Regime”, which provides a framework for discussion of how portability might work in practice. In this session chaired by Shang Wu, Adam will introduce this framework and encourage discussion on the viability/impact of portability and the draft framework.

Adam Butt

7 July 2026

Major event recordings and slides

Browse content from leading conferences that empower actuaries with best practice, market knowledge, updates on local and global trends. View all content via the link below and filter by event name in 'tags'.

All Major event content
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

2026 Ethics and Professionalism APAC Seminar 

This virtual event bring together over 180 actuaries from across Australia and Asia Pacific to collaborate on wide-ranging thought leadership issues around ethics and professionalism. The profession is confronting new challenges, and this is an important opportunity to approach them together. This is a great opportunity to meet your annual professionalism CPD requirements.

Presented by Nicolette Rubinsztein, Jon Shen, Louis Lee, Sanchit Maini, Hugh Miller, Bianka Grange, Sim Ng, Stuart Turner and Maathu Ranjan

22 July 2026
Video

6 CPD Points

2026 Ethics and Professionalism APAC Seminar 

This virtual event bring together over 180 actuaries from across Australia and Asia Pacific to collaborate on wide-ranging thought leadership issues around ethics and professionalism. The profession is confronting new challenges, and this is an important opportunity to approach them together. This is a great opportunity to meet your annual professionalism CPD requirements.

Presented by Nicolette Rubinsztein, Jon Shen, Louis Lee, Sanchit Maini, Hugh Miller, Bianka Grange, Sim Ng, Stuart Turner and Maathu Ranjan

22 July 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Plenary 6 - Mind, Money and Meaning: Financial Wellbeing Through Every Life Stage

Building true financial wellbeing requires more than strong investment returns. It demands a deeper understanding of human behaviour, mental health and the cognitive factors that influence financial decision-making and retirement confidence. <br><br>In this insightful plenary, Dr Fiona Kerr, The NeuroTech Institute, and Alison Bodinnar, Acenda, bring together neuroscience, insurance insights and financial capability frameworks to explore how funds can better support Australians’ financial resilience. The session will highlight evidence-based methods for communicating complex information, improving member confidence and enabling clearer decisions across life stages — ultimately strengthening long-term retirement outcomes.

Dr Fiona Kerr, Alison Bodinnar and Lara Elgey

27 May 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Aware Super's Retirement Manager: Actuarial Innovation in Digital Retirement Advice

While digital tools have evolved to support superannuation accumulation, a significant gap exists in providing comprehensive digital advice for the retirement phase. This presentation introduces Aware Super's ""Retirement Manager"" and explores the actuarial framework that enables scalable retirement income guidance. The retirement phase presents unique complexities that traditional digital solutions struggle to address. Members face critical decisions about how much to withdraw while balancing longevity risk, market volatility, and changing life circumstances. Common problems include drawing too little (leading to unnecessary lifestyle restrictions), drawing too much (risking depletion), and overall lack of confidence in retirement income strategies. Traditional tools focus on individual accounts, but members think at the household level. Retirement Manager addresses these challenges by operating at the household level. It considers both the member and their partner, and incorporates all relevant income sources including the Age Pension, assets outside superannuation, and tax implications. Its hybrid nature enables both direct member self-service and use by Aware Super's advice team to provide emotional validation for members who prefer human assistance. The tool incorporates intelligent nudges including ""Maximised to Last"" to guide sustainable drawdown strategies, and an inbuilt triage system to identify when human intervention is needed. A key innovation is the Income Confidence Score—a composite actuarial measure that accounts for both the conditional target income shortfall and the risk of superannuation being depleted early. The presentation will explore the actuarial methodology and how we worked within the vendor's projection engine constraints to produce stochastic-like results using a deterministic engine. We'll demonstrate how actuarial concepts are translated into practical member guidance, and share implementation challenges encountered during the development phase, showcasing how actuaries can effectively collaborate with different stakeholders to add value.

Young Tan and Adrian Portell

27 May 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Group TPD - Powering Sustainability

The Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI) has warned that the nation’s financial safety net is being pushed to its limits, with more Australians leaving work permanently due to mental ill health than ever before. New data from CALI reveals that mental health is now the leading cause of TPD claims, making up almost one in three claims paid. This presentation considers evidence from claims data, and walks through a TPD case study. It covers: • The implications for underwriting, pricing and product design, linking in the findings from the Actuaries Institute’s Group Insurance workstream of the Disability Insurance Taskforce. • Existing and potential solutions from life insurers and superannuation funds to address sustainability issues. • Parallels to retail product solutions, and implications for the group insurance market.

Richard Land and Michael Lin

27 May 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Disability Insurance at a Turning Point: How Can the Industry Best Support the Community with its Mental Health Challenges?

The life insurance sector stands at a critical juncture within The Great Recalibration - the broader economic and social reset redefining work, wellbeing, and financial security. Amid this transformation, worsening Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) experience and notwithstanding regulatory intervention, Income Protection insurance remains a challenge for the industry. Worsening claims experience has been driven largely by mental health conditions, which has emerged as one of the industry’s most pressing challenges. Beyond its immediate consumer and insurer financial impact, this trend reflects deeper shifts in workforce dynamics, societal expectations, and the role of insurers in supporting long-term resilience. In Australia, mental health now constitutes around one-third of TPD payouts, with insurers disbursing over AUD 2.2 billion in mental health TPD claims in 2024 - nearly double the amount seen five years earlier1 . Further, TPD claim rates for individuals in their 30s attributed to mental health have surged approximately 732 % since 20141 . This trend has significant implications across the insurance value chain - from pricing, underwriting, and claims management to capital and reinsurance strategies. The worsening experience not only impacts profitability and sustainability but also highlights the need for coordinated action across insurers and insurance sectors, reinsurers, regulators, and broader societal stakeholders. This paper examines the underlying drivers of the deterioration in TPD experience, with a particular focus on the rise of mental health-related claims and explores the systemic implications for the life insurance industry. It calls for an industry-wide conversation – one that moves beyond cost management to reimagining how users and distributors of insurance, insurers, reinsurers, and policymakers can collectively respond to the mental health challenge through innovation, partnership, and a renewed focus on societal value.

Fibian Hungerford and Alan Merten

27 May 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: It's Time: Here's How to Turn Superannuation into a Retirement Income System

Australia's superannuation system has been remarkably successful at helping millions of people save for retirement. But saving is only half the job – and right now, the system is falling short on the other half. More than 1.5 million Australians aged 65 and over hold balances totalling over $320 billion in the accumulation phase, paying more than $2 billion in additional tax each year as a result. Despite decades of policy development, structural and behavioural barriers continue to prevent retirees from converting their savings into the regular income the system was designed to deliver. In this presentation, Nick and David will outline the findings of their recently published Actuaries Institute Dialogue Paper, which proposes the MyIncome package – a practical, three-part reform designed to make drawing a regular income from superannuation simpler and the norm for all Australians. The package includes requiring APRA-regulated funds to offer eligible members a pre-set account-based pension from age 65, mandating that retirement income payments commence by age 75, and ensuring funds collect members' bank account details from age 60. Nick and David will discuss the rationale, design choices, and implications for funds, members, and policymakers.

Nick Callil, David Knox AM

27 May 2026
Video

2 CPD Points

Summit 2026: Plenary 5 - Recalibrating Insurability: Navigating the Future of Life Protection

The boundaries of insurability are shifting across life insurance. Rising claims costs, changing underwriting paradigms and evolving customer expectations are forcing reassessment of what sustainable protection looks like and how it should be delivered. Through a series of lightning talks, this session tackles the vexed question of insurability in both group and retail products. What adjustments are needed to ensure protection remains viable and valuable for Australians who need it? Industry leaders will deliver insights on the forces reshaping insurability and the practical responses required.

Alissa Holz, Drew MacRae, Jane Magill, Gerard Kerr and Ian Laughlin

27 May 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Summit 2026: Plenary 5 - Recalibrating Insurability: Navigating the Future of Life Protection - Gerard Kerr

The boundaries of insurability are shifting across life insurance. Rising claims costs, changing underwriting paradigms and evolving customer expectations are forcing reassessment of what sustainable protection looks like and how it should be delivered. Through a series of lightning talks, this session tackles the vexed question of insurability in both group and retail products. What adjustments are needed to ensure protection remains viable and valuable for Australians who need it? Industry leaders will deliver insights on the forces reshaping insurability and the practical responses required.

Gerard Kerr

27 May 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Summit 2026: Plenary 5 - Recalibrating Insurability: Navigating the Future of Life Protection - Drew Macrae

The boundaries of insurability are shifting across life insurance. Rising claims costs, changing underwriting paradigms and evolving customer expectations are forcing reassessment of what sustainable protection looks like and how it should be delivered. Through a series of lightning talks, this session tackles the vexed question of insurability in both group and retail products. What adjustments are needed to ensure protection remains viable and valuable for Australians who need it? Industry leaders will deliver insights on the forces reshaping insurability and the practical responses required.

Drew MacRae

27 May 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Summit 2026: Simplifying Retirement and Guidance

Regulators are asking superannuation funds to provide guidance and support to their members as they approach retirement. This paper takes an inventory of the items that need to be considered. It finds that, of the more than 40 items identified, over half arise because regulations are unnecessarily complex and confusing and could be abolished without materially affecting the equity and security of the system. Many of these provisions only benefit the wealthier or better informed. Simplifying the system would create the opportunity to address glaring inequities. Most pressing is that between renters and homeowners. Commonwealth Rent Assistance is universally seen as inadequate for renters. On the other hand, the exemption of the family home from means tests is overgenerous to wealthy homeowners—and distorts the distribution of housing. High effective marginal tax rates on earned income, which arise from the interaction of the welfare and tax systems, are also inequitable and could be addressed. Much of the complexity stems from government efforts to “be seen to act” without considering materiality or side-effects. A simpler system would allow trustees and financial advisors to focus better on the management of the material questions, not least the management of investment and longevity risks. Fairness does not require intricate regulation: effective regulatory design should focus on material issues, maintain logical consistency, and minimise compliance costs for individuals. Actuaries can play a role in maintaining this focus.

Anthony Asher

27 May 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Summit 2026: Lessons from the Courtroom: Navigating Trustee Duties and Insurance Complexities

Since the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry in 2018, litigation in the superannuation sector—including insurance in super—has intensified. Class actions and ASIC enforcement now target practices that may breach core trustee obligations. This paper will explore the landscape. • What were the issues facing recent legal proceedings? • Did governance, systems, or behaviour fail? • What lessons emerge from these failures? • What duties do trustees and insurers owe to members in offering group insurance, especially in areas where consent or disclosure is ambiguous? • Beyond the headline cases, are there latent risks still under the radar in insurance within super? • What role do actuaries have in reducing legal, operational, and reputational risks?

Karen Lau, Jeff Humphreys

27 May 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Summit 2026: Modelling the Financial Impact of Provider Insolvency on the Tuition Protection Service

Provider insolvency poses a significant risk to the integrity of the Tuition Protection Service (TPS), which is designed to safeguard students who have prepaid tuition fees. When education providers fail, the TPS must either place students with alternative institutions or refund unconsumed fees, creating a financial obligation that can be substantial under adverse conditions. Given the increasing volatility in international student flows and policy-driven constraints such as visa caps, understanding the scale and distribution of this risk is critical for maintaining fund sustainability. This paper presents a credit risk modelling framework to quantify the impact of provider insolvency on the TPS. Using publicly available data on student enrolments, provider defaults, and corporate insolvency trends, the model estimates exposure, default probability, and loss severity across different education sectors. Default risk is calibrated using historical insolvency patterns and stressed using policy-driven shocks, while loss severity reflects the balance between student placements and refund requirements. Simulation techniques are applied to generate a distribution of potential losses, allowing assessment of both expected outcomes and tail risks under adverse scenarios. The analysis highlights that risk is not driven by large headline providers but by a broader base of smaller, higher-risk institutions, particularly in volatile segments such as private vocational and language providers. The framework provides a practical and scalable approach to assessing fund adequacy and demonstrates how actuarial techniques can be applied to policy-driven systems. It supports the development of risk-based levy structures, early warning indicators, and stress-testing frameworks, enabling regulators and policymakers to proactively manage insolvency risk and protect student outcomes in an uncertain operating environment.

Rohan John

27 May 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Summit 2026: The Modelling Behind Successful Public Policy Campaigns

This presentation raises the curtains on the modelling produced behind the successful public policy campaigns for changes to LISTO and for super to be paid on paid parental leave. Dare I say it Division 296 v2.0 will pass as well and we can say that we are 3 out of 3 on public policy submissions. How did we achieve a 100% success rate? What was the winning formula? What numbers did we produce? Why/how did we select the numbers we produced? How did we use the numbers in storytelling? This presentation focuses on issues in super, but we hope attendees can take the learnings and apply them to driving positive changes in their own practice areas.

Garvin Tso

27 May 2026
Presentation slides

1 CPD Point

Summit 2026: Always-On Intelligence: Embedding AI in Retirement Guidance

As superannuation funds evolve to meet the Retirement Income Covenant and rising member expectations, artificial intelligence offers a promising avenue to enhance retirement guidance and engagement. This presentation explores the concept of an AI-enabled support system that combines predictive analytics with human expertise to deliver timely, personalised nudges and future-self scenarios. Drawing on a holistic view of member data—including transactional, behavioural, and family wealth information—the system aims to anticipate financial shifts and connect members to appropriate support at key decision points. The session will explore the design principles and key features of this AI-human hybrid model, including dynamic net worth analytics, predictive alert mechanisms, and seamless adviser handovers. It will also share early learnings from pilot testing, including member and adviser feedback, and reflect on how such systems can align with broader regulatory expectations around effective communication and member-centric engagement. While not prescriptive, the discussion will touch on how AI-driven nudges and visual storytelling can support principles outlined by Treasury and ASIC, such as clarity, relevance, and timing in retirement communications. By framing AI as a strategic enabler within retirement ecosystems, the presentation invites actuaries to consider how intelligent systems can be responsibly embedded to support better outcomes. It will offer a forward-looking perspective on how predictive intelligence, when paired with human advice, can transform retirement planning from a static process into a dynamic, lifelong journey.

Oscar Chen

27 May 2026
Four speakers onstage at the 2023 Injury and Disability Schemes Seminar.

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